A New Leaf
by Nimsul
Summary: Erulissë had always been a problem child. Even as an adult, and a border-guard of Lorien, she still never learned how to behave. When she is brought before Lady Galadriel herself for judgment, as a punishment Erulissë must work for Elrond in Rivendell, but she finds a new home and life there as Elrond's apprentice. Elrond/OC Other pairings, including slash. Look inside for more.
1. Exile

**Disclaimer:** Lord of The Rings and any/all recognizable places/characters do not belong to me. This is for entertainment only and no money is being made from it.

**Rating:** M

(This chapter: K+)

**Pairings:** Elrond/OC, Elrond/Celebrian (mentioned), Elladan/Elrohir, Elrond/Gil-Galad, Elrond/Glorfindel

(This chapter - none)

**Warnings:** Slash, non-canon OC pairing, violence, some angst, Spoilers. Some uh, steamy situations.

(This chapter: Spoilers)

**Notes: **Another attempt at an OC fic. Hopefully less sue-ish, better written, and more canon appropriate with a plot that isn't all over the place! So yes, you will notice a lot of parallels between Erulissë and Estelmir from the Nightingale's Song as they're essentially the same character with minor differences in personality and different backgrounds. The plot has some similarities, but is mostly different. So this is kind of a revamped version of The Nightingale's Song to be closer to my original idea for it.

It will occasionally switch between Erulissë and Elrond's point of view.

This takes place somewhere around 500 years after the ring was destroyed. So it might be considered AU since in canon 90% of the main characters in this would have already left middle earth. It just wouldn't make sense to have my plot fit anywhere else in the storyline. It also has elements from both the movies and books.

Enjoy, and please review!

* * *

**Chapter One: Exile**

* * *

A few birds twittered noisily in the treetops above me and a fox dashed across the sun-dappled forest floor somewhere to my left. It must have been a fox, anyway, I could tell from the sound of its footsteps. Somewhere nearby I could make out the voices of two of my fellow border-guards and the Marchwarden as they spoke quietly. Otherwise, the woods were silent. It was a boring day in other words. Being a border-guard always suited me well. I was always running around in the woods like some kind of savage as a child. If I am to be truly honest about it, I felt more at home half-way up a tree than locked up in some building. That was where I happened to be that particular afternoon, in fact.

I never took my job very seriously. Sure, it was serious business when the minions of Sauron skulked about near the woods and we had to keep them at bay. Now, however, there is hardly a peep - aside from the birds at any rate. Of course, being the slacker that I was, the Marchwarden was constantly on my case. …If he could find me. Rumil was smart, yes, but not as good at his job as Haldir was before he had been killed at Helm's Deep. I had not been a guard during that time, though. I was, however a skilled archer even as a child and the Marchwarden didn't mind having me around at all. My parents had little time nor patience for me, unlike the border-guards who were mostly amused by my antics and started taking me along with them on patrols when I was eight years old. Why my family ever allowed that, I will never know. Odds are they were hoping I would run off somewhere or get eaten by something so they didn't have to deal with their tomboyish daughter that behaved more like a burly dwarf than an elfling anymore.

Unlike Haldir, Rumil had no sense of humor. That made tormenting him all the more pleasurable. Well, really I would do anything in my power to annoy anyone who was a figure of authority – not just Rumil. It was just that aggravating Rumil gave me a very special sort of satisfaction, I will admit. I smirked mischievously as the elf in question and two of our companions strolled along below the tree I was perched in.

Having gotten bored with following Rumil's orders like a faithful pet dog on such a temperate summer afternoon, I decided to take off for a while and maybe have a quick nap in a tree. It had been a nice nap, and the breeze felt lovely as it snagged at my long golden hair. I had even taken off my grey cloak and hung it on a branch near me. It was too hot to wear the thing anyway. I looked down at Rumil warily. _Did he actually manage to find me this time? _I thought, squinting through the leaves that blocked my view. _No. _I realized as I spied him looking around blindly.

"Erulissë! I know you are here somewhere! Enough of this messing about! Show yourself immediately!" Rumil called angrily. I giggled quietly to myself. He was really irritated this time. It was always worth it to get him all flustered. What did everyone always have to be so serious for, anyway? I lived through the end of the third age too – I knew what it was like to live in Sauron's shadow never knowing what terrors would take place tomorrow. But that shadow has since passed and now we had a calm, hard-fought peace. Why could no one just relax a bit and enjoy it?

"Please Erulissë! There is a problem!" One of the younger guards called.

"Oh, all right. What is it?" I replied, boredly. "Did a squirrel steal your lembas bread?"

"No, you fool! We found the corpse of the guard that should have been with you!" Rumil practically howled. "Get down here at once!" Shocked, I made to climb down out of the tree but lost my footing and fell into an awkward heap in front of Rumil. He looked down at me with a curious mixture of amusement and disdain. Trying to keep from showing him any embarrassment, I stood and brushed the dirt off my dark green leather tunic. I couldn't help but wince a bit though; I was going to have a quite a few lovely bruises in a few hours and I had definitely pulled something in my shoulder and back trying to hang on.

"What do you mean you found his corpse?" I demanded. "When I left him it was in the meadow and there was nothing and no one to be seen except for a doe that looked like she had some bad berries. That is not funny. At least when I pull a prank, I never joke about something like that."

"Do I _look_ like I am joking?" Rumil hissed, and gestured at the two scouts with him – one male and one female. "Four. There are four of us. When we left camp this morning, there were five." He stopped to shake his head and run his fingers through his loose blonde hair in distress.

"What happened?" I inquired, suddenly feeling a tiny bit guilty.

"I do not know! And at this point, I do not care! You are to return to Lothlorien. Give this to Lady Galadriel and do _not _think of taking any more little naps on your way back. You are responsible for this!" Rumil commanded, shoving a bit of half-crumpled parchment into my hands. I felt like an elfling that had misbehaved in class and been given a nasty little note to take home to their parents. …I had quite a few of those growing up – but no parents to give them to as they had both been killed fighting alongside Haldir at Helm's Deep when I was ten years old. Instead, I kept them in my dresser like some kind of sick little trophies of all the naughty things I had gotten away with.

Normally, when I had done something irresponsible and gotten told off I ignored it and laughed it off. This time was different. I had never done anything to intentionally harm anyone. Even this had been harmless – but my carelessness had led to the death of some innocent elf. Well, hardly. He was a border-guard. He should have been able to defend himself. _Oh, Valar, what I have done? _Never mind that, even. I had spoken to Galadriel once and it had been enough to scare me off ever trying to trifle with her. That woman could be downright scary. I do not know if it is her age or noble blood, but Galadriel wears power like a mantle and never before had I experienced such a level of pure intimidation. I wished I could die where I stood, and all the conversation had been was her wishing Rumil and me a safe patrol in passing one morning. The way I cowered before her had been something Rumil had never let me forget.

I took a deep breath and made a soft sound of assent as I turned from Rumil and the others to begin the walk back. I could feel them staring at me as I left. Even the woods suddenly felt oppressive. _I should run. I should get as far away as I can. _My rebellious mind suggested. _I hate it here. I could go to Rivendell – The elves there are much more fun anyway. _My body however didn't seem to obey and I kept walking steadily in the direction of Lothlorien, my anxiety and guilt growing with each measured step. I must have broken or dislocated something when I fell out of the tree too; the pain in my shoulder was getting worse. Once I was finally out of view and earshot of my fellow border-guards, I sat on a large moss-covered fallen log and switched the harness holding my bow and quiver to the other shoulder to lessen the pressure on the injured one. Unfortunately it made little difference and I swore angrily. Somewhere a squirrel chattered, yet it just sounded like the creature was mocking me.

* * *

It was just after nightfall when I finally reached Caras Galadhon. I was tired, miserable and in pain. Immediately I decided that Rumil's instructions to go straight to Galadriel could wait. I needed to see a healer; I could not even lift my left arm anymore without feeling like someone had stabbed a dagger into my shoulder blade. I was not presented the opportunity, however. None other than Lord Celeborn himself stood waiting for me. He really was a handsome elf; I have to admit - such perfect blonde hair and comely features.

"Erulissë. Lady Galadriel is waiting for you. This way, please. " He said cordially, and turned away while indicating for me to follow without so much as waiting for a response. Like Galadriel, he possessed of incredible grace and bearing. He was significantly less intimidating than her, though. I stared dumbly at him for a moment. How had he known? There was no way Rumil had been able to make it back before me. _They planned this somehow. _I thought to myself. It would not be below Rumil to incite some kind of scandal. Besides, I knew those woods better than any of the guards. I would have been Marchwarden instead of Rumil if I had been a little less flighty, or so he liked to tell me when he felt like picking on me. Dejectedly, I rubbed my sore shoulder and followed Celeborn without reply. I figured opening my mouth and getting myself into more trouble would not be the best course of action.

It was a short walk, but it seemed to take an age to get there. The sounds of the night insects were almost deafening. Mostly I kept my eyes trained to the ground in front of me. Sometimes I looked up, intending to ask Celeborn a question, but thinking better of it. The silence was torture; it felt like I was a criminal being led to execution. Again, the thought crossed my mind to just turn around and run. Perhaps I would find my way to Eriador and sail west. I wouldn't be leaving much behind anyway. Just as the plan was formulating in my mind, Celeborn stopped and turned to face me.

"She is waiting for you here. I would suggest you do not make her angry - or keep her waiting." He told me, frowning slightly. "Do not be afraid either. She can be intimidating, but she means well." Celeborn added when he noticed me staring ahead pointlessly with a mixture of guilt and mindless terror in my eyes.

Not desiring to get myself in any more trouble for the time being, I began climbing the ladder that led to the large talan above us - a task that was by no means easy considering the injury to my shoulder. By the time I reached the top I was panting from the effort of it and bit my tongue to keep from crying out in agony. _I probably deserve this. _I thought as I righted myself and my eyes fell upon the Lady Galadriel. She stood in the center of the talan, seemingly bathed in a haze of moonlight as both her silver-blonde hair and the surrounding furnishings seemed to reflect the night sky. Standing to her right was an _ellon _(male elf) that I had never seen before. He was tall with raven hair that was tied back into a neat braid. The way his gold-hued silken brocade robes fell over his body suggested at a slightly muscled build. Was he a warrior, perhaps? Much like Galadriel and Celeborn, he had a dignified presence. Something about him seemed significantly less formal, though.

"Ah, Erulissë. I have been waiting for you. I believe you have something for me, young one?" She said, giving me a knowing smile. Immediately I tore my eyes away from her mysterious guest, not realizing I had been staring. "Please excuse me for a moment; I have a situation that needs my attention." Galadriel added, facing the other elf. He nodded silently in understanding and took a few steps away to seat himself in a chair near the far end of the talan.

"_Naethen_. (I am sorry)" I said hesitantly and took a few steps toward her, holding out Rumil's note for her. _I should have read it. _I mused. Galadriel turned her back to me as she unfolded the scrap of parchment and read it.

"This is worse than I thought." She said finally, her clear blue eyes meeting my green ones. The way her gaze penetrated me was unnerving; it was though she could see into my very soul. I felt my chest tighten. The Lady of the Wood terrified me on a good day, the idea of her being angry with me was... well, beyond scary. "The Marchwarden told me you had been up to your usual misbehavior, but it seems your carelessness comes at a price this time."

"_Naethen_." I repeated, shaking. The truth of the matter was that my brain just could not seem to process anything but a meek apology. It was most out character, but keeping from passing out from the pain in my shoulder was taking up most of my focus. If she noticed I was injured, she said nothing.

"I do not know what to do with you. You are far from being an elfling yet you behave like one still. The logical thing, of course, would be to punish you. It is not entirely your fault, though. A border-guard shouldn't need an entourage to keep from being killed in the woods." She paused to look in the direction of her guest who was patiently waiting and he smiled kindly at her. "And you... I think I know what your problem is - you have never had any discipline. You have never been punished for anything." I suddenly became very interested in the floorboards, unable to meet her eyes.

"I did not mean for anyone to be harmed. I never have." I replied quietly, struggling to keep my voice even.

"Great harm can come even from good intentions. Your intentions have been selfish at best and you have no respect for authority, nor have you ever." Galadriel told me, calmly. The words were damning, but spoken gently as though she were addressing a scared elfling. "You need to be punished, but you also need to learn the error of your ways so you can understand where and how you have gone astray. This is for your own good, _Pen-neth. _(little one)"

"What is my punishment to be, _hiril nín_ (My lady)?" I asked sheepishly, still not daring to look up. The silence that followed was no less stifling than the air on that humid summer night. When Galadriel finally spoke, her voice sent chills down my spine.

"That is not yet decided. Return here to me at dawn and by then I shall have an answer." She told me in clear dismissal. And so I left. How I made it back down out of the talan without falling on my face, I will never know. I probably should have gone straight to the healer's, but I was entirely too exhausted, and collapsed face down in an empty bed in the guard's barracks instead. I was asleep before I hit the pillows and did not even bother to change out of my light leather armor.

* * *

"What was that about, if you do not mind my asking?" I inquired of Galadriel once she'd dismissed the young border guard. Normally I would not have asked, but it was not every day something actually seemed to bother her. No. Normally Galadriel was the perfect picture of indifference, regardless of the kindness she kept so well hidden within herself.

"That one is much like your twins, always up to mischief. Though, after her parents died fighting at Helm's Deep during the war of the Ring, no one bothered to discipline her. She is a border guard because she is a skilled archer, but her lack of responsibility has made her into a liability for the others." Galadriel answered. "I honestly do not know what to do with her, Elrond."

"Helm's Deep? That was five hundred years ago. She is hardly a child." I said, thoughtfully. "Whatever the case, she must be just as much a liability to herself. She was injured; did you notice?" Galadriel shook her head knowingly. For all her cold indifference, she did always have a sort of motherly side to her. In a way, sometimes even I saw her as a mother figure.

"She will not see a healer, probably." Galadriel replied. "But, if you want to help, I have an idea of what to do with her."

"I am listening, _hiril nín._" I answered. Really, I would have preferred not to be involved, but somehow Galadriel would have her way. She always did after all...

* * *

I was standing alone on a round stone patio, in the distance I could hear the sound of a waterfall thundering down into the valley. I was wearing an elaborate green silk gown that flattered my body well. My long golden locks were left loose where they cascaded down my back in unruly curls aside from a small part that was braided to hold an ornate silver headpiece in place. How strange. I never wore dresses. Dresses were completely inappropriate attire for hunting and patrolling the woods of Lorien. I definitely did not own a headpiece like that, either.

My surroundings were familiar, at least. I knew this valley well as I had been there several times as part of Lady Galadriel's entourage when she wished to visit. _Rivendell. _I thought to myself. _And the waterfall... That is the river Bruinen. Why am I here? _ I recognized the landscape, but I was not entirely sure exactly where in Rivendell I was. While I had been there on occasion, I spent most of my time in the library or watching the healers at work. Unlike being at home in Lothlorien, the healers in Rivendell did not mind my presence and often allowed me to help them with small things. I had always wanted to be a healer, really. I had only ended up as a border-guard because there was no one in Lothlorien who would teach me. But of course not - they all knew me too well. I was too immature and irresponsible for such delicate work. Maybe, maybe not... I would like to think that I am better at mending things than causing them pain.

I became bored quickly and paced the length of the patio. It was unremarkable, really, aside from a small round pedestal in the center. There were some weathered wooden chairs neatly stacked against the wall, under of the eaves of nearest building. I think it was the council office. So to hazard a guess, one could assume they held meetings outside on temperate days. It was deserted then, however.

"What am I doing here?" I thought aloud and scooted myself up onto the pedestal in the center of the patio and sat there. It was an entirely un-ladylike thing to do, but then I was never very lady-like and there was no one there to see me. Apparently no one had an answer for me as the valley remained tactfully silent aside from the constant sound of the waterfall in the distance. I flicked a fallen leaf off the pedestal from where it fell beside me. It landed soundlessly on the ground beside a few more. It was early autumn, I guessed as the air still felt of summer. I wondered if autumn in Rivendell was as beautiful as autumn in the Golden Wood. It was the sound of children laughing that snapped me out of my reverie.

I jumped off the pedestal and brushed dirt of the back of my dress in an undignified manner just in time to not be caught sitting there by two little girls who came running up to me. They were definitely twins, with identical inky black hair full of messy curls and deep grey eyes the color of a stormy sea. They wore matching blue satin dresses and were completely impossible to tell apart aside from the fact that one had a white rose in her hair and the other a daisy. _Their father put flowers in their hair - flowers for his little flowers. _I observed mutely. _Wait, what? _The little twins did seem eerily familiar, but I was positive I had never seen them before.

"_Naneth! _(Mother)" The one wearing the rose said cheerfully. "Do you know what today is?" I smiled vaguely while my mind tried to process why this elfling was calling me her mother.

"It is midsummer! You forgot! I knew it!" The other one said and stuck her tongue out when I did not answer.

"I did not forget! I was just thinking about how adorable those flowers look in your hair!" I replied, deciding to just play along. They were just children, anyway. It was probably a game.

"You are lying!" The first twin commented, giggling.

"Just make sure to remember that _Adar _(Father) will be waiting for you in your special place by the pond in the gardens at midnight. He thinks you forgot what today is!" The twin with the daisy in her hair said.

"But you have to wait for the nightingale to sing!" The twin with the rose said, shoving her sister aside. And then they were gone - giggling cheerfully as they ran off back in the direction that they had come from. I made a split second decision and hoisted my skirt up as I went to chase after them, but then suddenly… I wasn't in Rivendell anymore.

I woke with a start and cried out involuntarily in pain as I had turned over onto my sore shoulder in my sleep. Gasping, I rolled over onto my back as the memories of the previous day came flooding into my mind. I was in serious trouble this time. And assumedly, it did not help that it was not dawn but late morning as the sun was already high in the sky and the birds were singing jovially in a treetop nearby. _But what was that dream about? _I sat up and pondered the dream for a few moments, but nothing came to mind. I had never seen that place in Rivendell before and I had no idea who the little girls were. _Could it be a vision?_

"Erulissë, can you get anything right?" Came a smug voice from my right.

"What do you want?" I snapped at Rumil who was standing in the doorway of the now empty guard's barracks. Technically I was not even supposed to be in there, but Valar be damned if I was climbing into my talan with my injured shoulder.

"I believe you had an appointment this morning, according to this note from one of Lady Galadriel's attendants." He said with a smug grin, and made to hand me a neatly folded bit of parchment. "Running a bit late, are we?" I made no reply. I simply dragged myself out of the bed, shoved him aside as rudely as physically possible (which earned me a lovely fit of indignant swearing), and slammed the door on my way out. I really did not care what the note said - Galadriel would still want to see me in person, I was sure of that.

When I reached Galadriel's talan, she was of course waiting for me. Her guest from the previous night was there as well as Lord Celeborn. She seemed emotionless as usual; the two men on the other hand looked a bit bored.

"I am sorry to have kept you waiting, _hiril nín._" I said sheepishly and looked at the floor. My situation was bad enough without having been unintentionally late.

"No matter. You are here now." Celeborn said. "Though, it is unlikely that any tardiness will be tolerated in the future." He added sternly. I nodded mutely.

"Your punishment, then." Galadriel said in a quiet tone. "You are banished from Lothlorien for two hundred years." I stared in shock. _Banished?! I am being exiled from my home because I was a little lazy on duty? All right, more than a little but... _I realized I was not breathing and gasped for air.

"There is more." Celeborn added. _More? _I thought miserably. What more could they do to me? Was casting me out of my home not enough? It was ironic that it bothered me at all, really. Had I not been thinking of running away the night before?

"You will be spending that time in Rivendell." Galadriel explained. "You will be working for Lord Elrond." She added with a pointed glance to the other _ellon_. So that was Lord Elrond. I had never met him before, but he was something of a legend as both a master healer and one of the greatest warriors in the history of Middle Earth. He nodded to Galadriel and took a few steps forward to stand before me.

"Very well. The rules are simple. You do what you are told, when you are told. There will be no slacking off, no being late and absolutely no rudeness to _anyone_ will be tolerated. You will not be permitted to leave the valley, but if you behave yourself well enough after a time I will allow you to be a part of Rivendell's border-guard on occasion. I do not intend to order you around for two hundred years - only until you have learned your lesson." He said sternly, but not unkindly. "Is this agreeable? I will not be unreasonable so long as you behave yourself."

"Yes. Fine." I muttered. But what choice did I have?

"Look at people when you speak - not the floor." Elrond said and very gently tilted my head up. Surprised, I looked up at him and my eyes met his. He seemed like a pushover at first, but I could tell then that he was not someone I would get one over on easily, if at all. "Now then, get what you need ready. We leave in an hour."

"Have Rumil help you." Galadriel suggested. "And please remind him not to disregard orders in the future, no matter how trivial." She added when I made a face. Rumil was not a bad person; I simply drove him to it. Still, he made my blood boil.

And so I followed Galadriel's instructions. Rumil was angry to have been told off by me (for what, I had no idea), and made my last hour in Lothlorien a veritable hell with all manner of snide remarks. He did at least help me pack my bags, and seeing that I could hardly use my left arm, carried most of them to Elrond's carriage for me. If I had not been such an ass to him most of the time, he probably would not have treated me so badly.

I waited, seated on the edge of a stone wall near the carriage and two elves that had to be Elrond's guards, while Rumil left to tell him that I was ready to leave. Sadly, I looked around at my surroundings wanting to remember the Golden Wood as best as I could. I knew it was only a temporary leave, but somehow in that moment it felt as though I would never be returning. _Maybe I will not _want _to return. _I thought to myself hopefully. The few times I had been to Rivendell had been fond memories. It was a peaceful place of healing and learning, and I had truly felt at home there. If I behaved myself, it would not be so bad. Well, I had to _learn _how to behave myself, apparently.


	2. The Journey Begins

**Rating (This Chapter):** K+

**Pairings (This Chapter):** none, but some ominous foreshadowing!

**Warnings (This Chapter):** Nothing

**Notes:** Nothing to say really. But thank god for my job that is so boring its almost like I do get paid to sit here and write fanfics, haha. Also, if anyone notices typos, please either message me or write it in a review - both my beta and I are a little derpy sometimes. We try our best but we aren't perfect. *gross sobbing*

* * *

**Chapter 2: The Journey Begins**

* * *

I am not entirely certain what exactly made me agree with Galadriel's plan to take Erulissë back to Rivendell with me. Either way, I was glad to be leaving. I thought perhaps it would do me some good to visit Caras Galadhon, but mostly it brought back far too many painful memories. ...Memories of my beloved wife, Celebrian, and our daughter, Arwen. It seems like it was yesterday that my little Arwen played here amongst the trees, but now she is long gone from this world. Sometimes I wonder if I was right to allow her to choose a mortal life. But, so long as she found happiness there is no more I could have asked for - no matter how much I miss her. The thought to sail west and be reunited with Celebrian had crossed my mind several times, but always I hesitated. How could I bear to see the sadness in her eyes when the time came to tell her that our children would not be joining us? The twins had chosen immortality, but they refused to leave middle earth as it was the only home they had ever known. In a way, I can never see myself being able to truly call any place that is not Rivendell home, either. Before his passing I had promised Ereinion Gil-Galad that so long as the elves remained in Middle Earth, that I would maintain the valley of Imladris to be a place of sanctuary and learning open to all. I loved Celebrian, I still do, really. Yet, I am not ready to leave my home behind or break my promise to my king.

"My Lord Elrond, Erulissë is ready to leave." Rumil called from the doorway behind me. _What have I gotten myself into this time? _I wondered to myself. I knew Rumil from him having worked for Rivendell's guard on occasion. He was mostly considerate, took his job very seriously and was a skilled warrior. Erulissë must have been absolutely tenacious to be able to drive him to ignoring an order from Galadriel just to get back at her in a small way. Which hardly mattered - Galadriel had not particularly cared that he had not escorted her there at daybreak. In fact, she had anticipated it.

"Very well. I hate to be a bother, but could you please bring her here? I noticed her shoulder seems to be injured and I would rather make sure it is nothing serious before we leave." I asked, recalling Galadriel's comment that the border-guard most likely would not see a healer.

"Yes, My Lord. She must have done that when she fell out of a tree yesterday." Rumil answered. "I will warn you though - she is difficult to deal with. Most of the healers have begged me not to take her to them. I do not ask why."

"Hmm. We shall see about that." I answered thoughtfully and sent Rumil on his way. I was not particularly worried; no one could be more difficult than my son, Elladan. In his case, we usually sedated him first and asked questions later. It was... safer that way. Erulissë on the other hand, I think may have simply been overly defensive and did not want to be told off or asked unnecessary questions by a healer for having done something foolish. In her mind, it would have been punishment enough that she even needed to see a healer because one of her little schemes went awry.

* * *

When Rumil returned to me, I was sitting on the ground leaning up against the rock wall I had previously been seated on, half asleep. I probably would have been snoring like a drunken dwarf had the pain in my shoulder not kept me awake. My sleep last night had been fitful at best and now I was both physically and mentally drained. As such, my mind not even register that Rumil was standing in front of me until he knelt down and gently shook me. Feeling more than a little disoriented, I looked up at him with a vacant expression.

"Lord Elrond wants to examine your shoulder before you leave. Come with me." Rumil told me, and to my utter shock, held out his hand to help me up. Without reply, I accepted the gesture and let him help me to my feet. He said nothing else as he led me to me where Elrond was waiting. How adorable, he seemed regretful for getting me thrown out of Lorien.

"I am sorry for being such an ass to you all the time." I finally said with no small amount of effort just as he reached up to knock on the door in front of us. He hesitated and gave me a wide-eyed look that plainly told me he was wondering if there was an orc flying around in a snowstorm in Mordor, because surely hell had just frozen over.

"Do not apologize. I am no less guilty of purposely antagonizing you, either." He replied with a cocky sort of smile. "This is likely the last time we will speak for a while. So, farewell until the next time I am called upon to work in Rivendell. I suppose I should at least say hello once in a while when I am there. _Sílo Anor bo men lín. _(May the sun shine on your road)" I thanked him for his kind words quietly as he knocked on the door and we were bid to enter.

"Thank you, Rumil. You may leave now. I have kept you from your work long enough." Elrond told Rumil as we walked into the room. It was a small but well-furnished room. Assumedly it was one of the places for guests to stay in that we all knew existed, but no one ever used since we rarely had guests. I watched a little sadly as Rumil left. It probably was the last time I would see him for a very long time. I found it horribly out of character that I cared, considering how many times I had ran off in the woods just to get away from him. _It could just be that he has always been a part of my life, and knowing that he will not be any longer is hard to imagine. _I mused, and looked up at Elrond expectantly.

"Is it just your shoulder that is injured?" He asked.

"Yes." I replied. It was mostly true. I was sore all over; it had been quite a fall now that I was thinking about it. At the least, I was fairly certain my shoulder was the only thing that had any possibility of actually needing attention. The rest were just some bruises.

"Take a seat there and take your tunic off so I can have a look at it." He said, pointing at an ornate wooden chair near the small desk on the opposite side of the room. Remembering his comment about doing what I was told, when I was told, I obeyed without a word. I figured that if I was going to try and push my limits with him, now just simply was not the time for it. "Can you move your arm at all without pain?" Elrond inquired when I struggled to get out of the light leather tunic.

"No. It was not this bad yesterday." I answered, giving up on trying to slip the tunic over my head. He helped me get it off and very gently felt my shoulder. I will admit, I was a little surprised how light and warm his touch was. I honestly think most of the healers in Caras Galadhon liked seeing me squirm and I was not used to be treated with such care by any means. But then, Elrond was a master of the arts of healing. It made sense that he would be good at it and know how to examine something without making it worse.

"Nothing seems to be broken, which is a good thing. It is just dislocated." He said softly. "Not that it is any less painful, of course."

"Can you fix it?" I asked and looked up at him. "Normally I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but this is a bit much." He smiled slightly and ruffled my hair. I muttered quietly in indignation, but he ignored it.

"Of course I can. I just have to push it back into place. It will hurt, though. So please hold still." Elrond explained. I nodded in assent and closed my eyes. It _would _hurt. I had dislocated a knee once years ago after falling over a tree root while I was on patrol with Rumil's brother, Orophin. Indeed, I would not have fallen over said root if I was not busy running from a bear I had been stupid enough to pester. I had wanted to die when he righted it, but a few moments after I was able to walk again and the pain was significantly less. I bit my lip hard when Elrond first applied pressure, but I could not help but cry out when the joint slid back into place with a sickening popping sound. The pain lessened almost immediately and was replaced with a sort of dull discomfort. When I could think straight again, I found that I had fallen forward and was leaning against Elrond's chest, panting. Quickly, I sat back up and touched my shoulder experimentally.

"All fixed." Elrond told me kindly. "It will still be sore for a few days, but if it is still bothering you after a week please tell me."

"It does feel much better. Thank you." I replied, and slipped my green leather tunic back on much more easily since I could now move my arm without it feeling like it was going to fall off. "You... You are not even going to ask me how I did this?" I asked sheepishly after a moment.

"No, it really is none of my business. Besides, whatever happened in the past is not important. It is what you do from here on that counts. Think of it as turning over a new leaf." Elrond said lightheartedly. "Now then, that really was not so hard, and here I was told you were something of problem patient."

"Rumil told you that, I would wager. He is in a relationship with one of the healers. She hates me and thinks I am competition for his attentions seeing as he is always complaining about me. It is pathetic, really. Otherwise I really do not remember giving the healers a hard time. There is no point in trying to undermine the authority of someone who can fix you when you are busy bleeding all over the floor." I explained, rolling my eyes. To my surprise, Elrond laughed.

"Ah, to be young again." He said wistfully. "Anyway, is there anything you need to do or anyone you would like to see before we leave?" I only shook my head. I was always a loner, so I really did not have many friends or anyone I could think of that I would particularly miss. I would have said goodbye to Orophin, but he was away on business in Mirkwood. I followed Elrond's instructions silently and without protest as we made ready to leave. I was not quite sure how to feel about him. Normally I was used to being surrounded by stuffy older elves that had little patience or tolerance for my presence. Yet here was Lord Elrond, one of the oldest souls still left in middle earth, and he had shown me nothing but kindness thus far. Part of me wanted to turn his world upside down as he was responsible for teaching me the 'error of my ways'. At the same time, I knew I would feel horribly guilty to do anything like that to him as he _had_ been so kind to me. Then again, I had not given him any reason to be angry with me yet. I could not remember the last time I was such a mess of conflicted emotions.

* * *

Erulissë was not a bad person. She was in desperate need of guidance, oh _Valar_, yes. But I was sure after spending some time with her that she was not the horrible monster everyone in Lorien made her out to be. In a way, she was very much like my twins - mischievous, flighty and impulsive to a fault. With no figure of authority in her life that knew how handle that type of personality, she never had a good example of how to behave without having to act like another person entirely. Basically, I doubted she would give me much trouble even if she tried. I was not so different from her when I was younger. …Which was why I intended to leave her to work with Erestor in the archives on a regular basis. He would be most likely be angry with me, but if she could learn to get along with him, she could get along with anyone. He would have to get over it. I also had a sneaking suspicion that maybe the reason for all of her pranks and slacking off were the product of boredom. She was obviously intelligent, and being a border-guard, in all honesty, was a rather dull job.

"Did you always want to be a border-guard or was there something else you wanted to do with your life?" I asked her as we sat together in the front of the carriage. It did indeed feel good to be finally returning to Rivendell as I watched Caras Galadhon fade into the woodlands behind us. The realm of the Galadhrim was a beautiful place, but it was not home for me.

"No, I did not want to be a border-guard. I chose that path because it was the easiest. I was a skilled archer as a child and often went into the woods with Haldir when he was still Marchwarden, before he was killed. He also taught me how to wield a sword, how to survive in the woods for long periods of time, and how to hunt. It was just that I had the necessary skills for the job at a young age. I officially joined the guard as a warrior of the Galadhrim when I was twenty-five; I was not even of age yet." Erulissë explained, looking off ahead of us blankly.

"What path would have rather followed? You are not bound to this fate any longer. I will have to find something for you to do with your time in Rivendell; you might as well work toward something you would actually _want _to do." I suggested. I gave a light tug to the reigns as Asfaloth was apparently getting a little carried away. I was glad when Glorfindel suggested for me to take him with me for the trip to Lorien. The noble white steed that had once outrun the nazgul themselves was getting old now and was no longer fit enough for Glorfindel's job as head of the guard. We figured the trip would do him good. I knew he would have preferred to be ridden rather than pull a carriage, but there was not much of an option. It was a small carriage, at least.

"I wanted to be a healer." Erulissë answered after a long pause. "But no one would teach me because they all knew me too well. I got in the way all the time asking too many questions and trying to help. Maybe, if I keep out of trouble, could I be your apprentice?" She looked up at me with hope shining in her emerald eyes.

"Well, you have a long way to go before learning the healer's trade. To be a healer is to hold in your hands another's fate. It is a delicate and sometime tedious work. You are not responsible or disciplined enough. Nor, do I take apprentices." I told her, trying not to disappoint her. "That does not mean you cannot _ever_ be a healer. In fact, it is probably a good goal to have since you will have a lot to learn before you even begin thinking of studying medicines and treatments. If it is something you want badly enough, then you will be motivated to work for it. So I think it is a good idea." I added when she looked away, obviously crestfallen.

Mostly we rode in silence, surrounded instead by the sounds of the animals that made the Golden Wood their home. It was a sunny day, but it was dark far beneath the canopy aside from small patches of sunlight that danced across the ground. Erulissë had fallen asleep in her seat beside me, her long golden tresses were a disorderly mess since it was a bit windy. I did not wake her as I assumed she had not gotten much sleep the night before. It could just be the fatherly personality I have always had, but I was determined to get her on the right path. Maybe it would be a good thing for me. I had, for the most part, been rather melancholy and distant even towards those close to me ever since Arwen finally left to wed Aragorn. Even though I was happy for her, watching the ceremony had been one of the hardest moments in all my years. Though, it was harder still to attend her funeral when she had at last passed from this world. Perhaps dealing with Erulissë could serve to take my mind off some of the loneliness for a time. _You were planning that, were you not, Galadriel? _I thought and shook my head knowingly.

The trip to Rivendell was uneventful. Luckily, we did not run across any of the orc packs that had been roaming the great east Road as we had not traveled by night. Erulissë was surprised to hear about the orcs as there had not been any sighted near Lorien, yet they had been a major problem for Rivendell's guardsmen as of late. I assumed it was only a matter of time, and that an orc was likely responsible for the death of her fellow guard that had gone missing. It is likely the product of a paranoid mind, but I had a few theories about the return of marauding orcs on our lands. ...I did not like to entertain those theories - the last thing I wanted to think about was the return of Sauron, which should have been impossible. Whatever the case, we made it to Rivendell without incident and I was more than appreciative to be home at last.

* * *

_It is that dream again. _I realized as I found myself standing in the center of the same round patio wearing the same elegant dress. Again I was alone, and my surroundings were much the same, except that it seemed to be just before nightfall. But somehow, I was aware that I was dreaming this time. I also noticed other things - like the fact that it was blatantly autumn. I knew this before. _But one of the little twins said it was midsummer, and there were leaves on the ground then, too. _It was definitely not midsummer. Bored and confused, I decided to find out where in Rivendell this place was. Just as I began climbing the stairs on the side of what I assumed was the council building, I heard someone call to me.

"Erulissë!" I turned to look behind me and none other than Elrond was standing on the patio where I had been a moment ago. He was wearing a dark blue silk robe that flattered his figure and complexion well. Curiously, I hopped down the stairs and walked over to him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. He seemed not to hear me and just smiled. "Lord Elrond?"

"_Luithiach nin_. (You enchant me)" He said, looking into my eyes. Then it hit me, the reason the twins in the other dream seemed familiar - they had the same stormy grey eyes! "How is it that I fell for you so hopelessly?"

"...Wait, _what?_" I gasped, taking a few steps back. "What are you talking about?" I realized then, perhaps because of the nature of the dream, that Elrond did not seem to hear or see anything I did. I stuck my tongue out at him like a naughty elfling, and indeed his expression did not change.

"I am glad to have you here, _pen-vuil_. (dear one) It is hard to believe that tomorrow is the wedding." He continued. I was by then positive he did not hear me. _Wait, did he say wedding? What in the name of all things good is this about? _I pondered as I curiously reached forward to touch him. To my horror, my hand passed straight his shoulder as though he were some sort of apparition or spirit. "Are you excited? You have a come long way from when you first arrived here."

"No! No, no! Oh _Valar, _no! This is all wrong!" I squeaked and backed away. I wanted no part of marrying him and was thoroughly spooked by how my hand had passed straight through him. _I have to wake up. This is a dream – a really _stupid_ dream. _I tried to tell my consciousness, but I did not wake up.

"Erulissë!" Elrond called to me as I shrank further away. "Wake up, Erulissë. We are home." I sat bolt upright in the carriage with a gasp and very nearly fell over the side as I scrambled to scoot as far away from Elrond as physically possible. My heart pounding, I took stock of my surroundings. It was as it should be. The sun was just beginning to set and I could see the many arches of the buildings of Rivendell below us. We had apparently just passed through the secret entrance to the valley. I had not been there in many years, but it was much the same and just as breath-taking of a view as it had always been. Uncertainly, I moved closer to Elrond and touched his arm gently. I felt the fine silk of his green brocade overcoat, and not thin air. I sighed in relief. I mean, I knew it was a dream, but it was not a dream I hoped to have again anytime soon.

"Are you all right?" He inquired, his eyes meeting mine. _Yes, definitely the same eyes. _I thought to myself, and all I could see in them was kindness and a sort of forlorn sadness. Embarrassed, I released my grip on his sleeve and looked away.

"Just a strange dream. It is nothing." I said, feeling my cheeks turn red. I actually touched him to see if he was really there, how silly.

"Dreams are often symbolic visions of things yet to pass. Never disregard them." Elrond said somewhat cryptically. "Whatever the case, we are here. I suppose it would be easiest if you just stayed with me. You can use my daughter's room; she… will not need it. Tomorrow we will work out your schedule."

That was something I had not thought about. Lord Elrond was half-elven as were all of his children. I remembered that his daughter, the granddaughter of our Lady Galadriel, had chosen a mortal life and married the king of Gondor. _It must have been very hard on him, to lose a child and know that she will not be waiting in the undying lands. _I mused, beginning to understand some of the sadness in his eyes. No, I probably would not get up to any mischief that caused him any worry. I think Elrond had suffered through more than any one person could ever be expected to endure. And now that I was getting to know the mysterious Lord of Imladris, I had finally perhaps met someone that I could honestly look up to as a sort of role model. Of course, that did not mean anyone else was safe…


	3. A New Day

**Rating (This Chapter):** K

**Pairings (This Chapter):** Elrond/Celebrian (mentioned)

**Warnings (This Chapter):** none

**Notes:** Eep. I have something... fun planned for the next chapter. haha. Enjoy either way and please review! I am a total feedback whore.

* * *

**Chapter 3: A New Day**

* * *

"No, absolutely not. I have no idea how you found yourself in this situation but I do not desire any part in it." Erestor said firmly glaring at me like I was a misbehaved elfling. Honestly, considering how fun it was to bother him on occasion, I could completely understand Erulissë's tendency to purposely see how far she could push someone.

"Please, Erestor. I need your help with this." I told him for at least the third time that morning. "You have been complaining for years that you wanted an assistant." He shook his head in exasperation and ran his fingers through his long black hair. Anyone that did not know better could easily mistake the two of us for brothers. We were very similar in appearance. Our mannerisms and temperaments, however, were nearly complete opposites.

"Can she even read?" Erestor snapped, glaring at me. Actually, I had not considered that. I could not imagine there was any reason she should not know how to read, though.

"Of course." I responded, lacking conviction. "Why are you being so difficult about this? It will only be in the morning."

"I am being 'difficult' because I am not particularly interested in this whole arrangement." He replied.

"If I cannot ask my head of staff and chief adviser for assistance in this matter, then who should I ask?" I inquired. I knew he would agree, he only did not desire to and very much wanted to make sure I knew just how much he disapproved of the whole situation. It made no difference to me either way.

"Fine." Erestor finally said with annoyance. "I know I will not win an argument with you. She will not find me to be nearly as forgiving as you are. Make sure she is on time, I will not tolerate tardiness." _Ha. No tardiness? She is still in bed. The poor sod has no idea what he has coming to him. _I thought with no small amount of amusement. I normally did not enjoy being an instigator, but things were about to get really interesting. I was curious to see how Erulissë would deal with Erestor and his meticulous way of doing things. He, on the other hand, would probably handle her in the same manner as the twins when he figured out how her mind worked. Not that I in any way claimed to have figured that out myself yet. I had a general idea, but Erulissë was very unpredictable when she wanted to be.

I was not entirely sure what to do with her other than having her help Erestor keep the archives in order. There really was not that much to actually _do _in Rivendell in the means of work. Granted, there would have been loads of work I could keep her busy with at the house of healing. She was not ready for that, though. The kitchens or the stables were a bad idea as well. I wanted her to learn to behave like a proper woman instead of some creature of the wilds; that would not happen if she had to clean out horse stalls all day. Never mind that she would probably just run off to spite me in that case. No, she needed to do something that occupied her mind. Some mundane repetitive task would just lead to her reverting to her old ways out of boredom. I was absolutely positive of that much at the very least.

After speaking with Erestor I found myself out in the morning sunlight on the patio behind the council building. It was one of my favorite places in Rivendell. I often went there when I needed to time to think about something as I usually did not frequently visit the hall of fire unless it was winter. Most of the time there was no one there unless the council decided to meet outside. Today was no different. There was not a soul in sight and not a sound but that of the bruinen running in the distance. With a sigh, I left the patio and leaned up against the railing nearby and looked off the cliff and down into the valley below. I could see a few members of the guard as they walked along on their way to patrol the plains outside the valley. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, until a single yellowed leaf fell onto to my shoulder from the proud oak tree that towered above me. There had been a bad drought that year, and its effects were finally starting to show.

"The leaves will be falling by midsummer if it does not rain soon." I thought aloud and carefully dropped the fallen leaf over the edge of the railing and over the cliff. I watched distractedly as it spiraled downward toward the depths of the valley. It would be a perfect metaphor for how I was feeling, really. The more time passed, the more I felt as though I were I slowly falling further into despair. Some days it was as though I were swimming in a vast stormy sea struggling to stay afloat, but it was getting harder and harder to breathe with each passing day… The loneliness threatened to swallow me whole.

It was the sound of children laughing that turned my attention back to the real world. Now that was something odd- there were not many children in Rivendell and they usually did not play near the council office. I turned around to see two little girls standing on the patio where I had been a few moments before. Curious as to why they were there unsupervised, I walked back over to the patio. They seemed to be twins, and they looked so much like Arwen did as a child that I lost the will to speak for a moment. Though, it was the way they had flowers tucked into their hair that really caught my attention. I had always put flowers in Arwen's hair when she was a child; after all, she was my little flower.

"_Adar_! (father)" One of the twins cried, turning to me with a bright smile. She was wearing a white rose in her hair "It is almost midsummer!" _'Adar?' What is this? These are not my children. _I wondered, and looked over at the other elfling with a little white daisy in her hair who was staring off into the distance as if she saw something that her sister and I did not.

"It is almost midsummer, yes. It will be in two more months." I replied, curiously. "What is so special about midsummer?"

"Everything will change." The one with the daisy said. Something about demeanor reminded me hauntingly of Galadriel. She looked up at me with deep grey eyes that matched my own. She smiled endearingly. Then I realized that these were not real children. It was a vision. It had to be. No elfling could possibly speak so cryptically. Both little girls looked away suddenly toward the railing that I had been leaning against before. A woman was standing there now with her back to us as she looked down into the valley. Her long golden hair was tied neatly into a braid that reached far past her waist and was in stark contrast to the deep emerald hue of the gown she was wearing. She was slightly small of stature for an elf, but she had a sort of grace about her. While I was wondering who she was and how she gotten there without my noticing, one of the little twins spoke again.

"In the gardens at midnight, you will hear a nightingale sing." I turned back to them, completely confused, but they were running away in the direction of the street beyond the council house. Then I was positive that it was a vision as their footsteps made no sound upon the cobblestones as they ran away laughing together. Quickly, I looked to see if the mysterious woman was still there, but she had vanished without a sound as well.

For most of my life, I had experienced visions like this and other ominous dreams. That ability only became more prevalent when I inherited the elven ring of power, Vilya, from Ereinion Gil-Galad. The elven rings were said to enhance the natural abilities of those who bore them, and that had certainly been the case with me. Even though Vilya had lost much of its power when the One was destroyed, the strength of my visions and my powers of healing never lessened. Uncertainly, I glanced at the ring in question that I still wore on my left middle finger mostly as a memento of my fallen king who had bequeathed it to me. Many times I wondered what my life would have been like had he not fallen that day. I had been his lover, and surely still would have been if circumstances had not sundered our bond forever. The large sapphire caught the sunlight and shone as brilliantly as it always had. Sometimes it was difficult to tell such visions from real happenings, but normally subtle details gave it away - like the fact that the twins' footsteps were silent. Either way, I could not recall having such a strange vision before. Nor had I ever seen the woman or the twins before. How much they resembled Arwen tore at my soul. Shaken, I returned to my home. A good, strong cup of chamomile tea was in order.

* * *

I was thankful to have finally reached Rivendell. The trip there had been exceedingly boring. In spite of the reluctant respect for Elrond that I had gained, conversations with him usually just led me in circles and never ended with a definite answer. It seemed he would rather make me think about what I was asking and come up with an answer on my own, which was only made more difficult as a result of whatever input he did have. It was incredibly confusing, but much to my annoyance I was starting to analyze ideas in new ways and question things I had always taken for granted without noticing. It is entirely possible that subtly forcing me to use my mind in different ways was his intention all along. Indeed, he had said that a healer had to be able to be endlessly inventive because you never quite knew what you would be dealing with from one day to the next. I found it amusing that he refused to have me as an apprentice but was teaching me small things without even realizing he was doing it.

For someone who was supposed to be being punished, Arwen's rooms in Elrond's home were a major improvement to what I was used to. But then, it was the house of an elven lord. Even so, it was much more homely than any place I had ever been. Having been so used to sleeping in the woods or the guard's barracks in Caras Galadhon, I was not quite sure what to think of the enormous canopy bed or the lavish furnishings. The washroom was something else as well. Living in the treetops did not allow for such luxury with any means of functionality. I had never seen such a large tub; it was the size of a small swimming pool. The elves in Rivendell lived so differently from those of Lorien that it was completely overwhelming for me at first. I felt horribly out of place, honestly. What would I ever use the incredibly ornate vanity or the cavernous walk-in closet for? I had never spared time for needless primping. In fact, most of the male border-guards kept their hair neater than I ever cared to. And the closet, I could not even imagine owning enough clothes to fill it. In a way, it made me a tiny bit jealous. Elrond rarely spoke of Arwen, and if he did it obviously took him no small amount of effort to control his emotions. How much he missed his daughter was beyond any description – that I was certain of. Yet, my parents had hardly ever noticed I even existed - Haldir and his brothers had always been the ones who looked after me when they could. She was lucky to have been so loved.

Apprehension aside, I woke the morning after arriving in the hidden valley feeling refreshed. My shoulder was still a little stiff from falling out of the tree, but there was not any pain. I could not remember the last time I had slept without being plagued by nightmares or cryptic dreams. Luckily, I had not dreamed of Elrond or the twins again. I had spent the time since arriving trying to push that particular dream as far from my memory as possible. Elrond's comment about dreams often being visions had thrown me for loop. I shook these thoughts from my head as I rolled out of the huge bed and got ready to face whatever the day had in store for me.

By the time I was up and dressed, Elrond was already waiting for me in the large study that had looked like it had once been an entry hall. I liked this room. The majority of it was filled with books haphazardly piled all over the place. Some of them were stacked neatly on shelves, but for the most part the entire room was in a state of controlled chaos. In the center of the room was a large round oaken table with half of it covered in a pile of old scrolls and various writing implements. In the far corner near a fireplace was a relatively modest desk with nothing but a large leather journal on it. Plants hanging in pots from the wooden rafters above and a few on the sills of the tall cathedral-like windows gave the room a sort of soft, earthy feel. It would be a cozy place to sit and read in the winter if I was ever allowed the time.

"About time you decided to crawl out of bed." Elrond commented, looking up from a book he had been reading when he heard me close the door to Arwen's rooms behind me. He was seated in one of the four green plush velvet chairs at the round table in the center of the room with a cup of faintly steaming tea in front of him. It had to be chamomile as I could smell the familiar sweet fragrance of it from where I was standing. I half wished I could just die when I saw him. He was wearing the same royal blue embroidered overcoat he had been wearing in my dream of him with a white undershirt and his hair left loose to cascade over his shoulders. I had been trying to forget the dream, yet my traitorous mind could not help but notice for the first time just how handsome Elrond really was. Somewhat dejectedly I wrapped my finger around a stray golden curl that had fallen in my face. My hair was a frizzy mess, so I had not even bothered to brush it. How was it that his was so perfect?

"It is not that late." I mumbled and sat across from him in one of the vacant chairs that was conveniently behind the pile of scrolls so I mostly could not see him. _This is ridiculous. _I thought to myself somewhat brokenly. _He is older than the hills - old enough to be my great-grandfather! _

"It is nearly noon." Elrond replied. "And your hair is a mess. That may be acceptable for a border-guard, but it is not acceptable here. You could easily be as beautiful as Galadriel if you gave your appearance some attention. Brush your hair at least, and we will discuss your schedule." I leaned over to give him a sharp-eyed glare from the behind the pile of scrolls.

"How is my appearance your concern?" I asked haughtily, but immediately wished I could have shoved my foot in my mouth. Elrond looked up from his book with a frown.

"Think _before _you speak. I cannot fathom why it is necessary for me to answer that. Brush your hair. Now." Elrond told me, giving me an equally pointed glare. His voice was calm and I could not see the faintest hint of anger in his expression, but immediately I knew better than to argue with him.

_How did he do that? _I mused as I sat at the vanity in my washroom uselessly trying to tame my wild locks. Rumil could literally scream at me to do something and I would still ignore him. _It is the way he said it. _I understood as I gave up on my hair and tied into a loose braid. It was not much better than it had looked before. I cursed rather creatively as I pulled it apart and tried brushing my hair again. If nothing else, it had infuriated me enough to completely void my previous thought about him being attractive. That could only be a good thing, of course. I wanted no part of that. Once I finally managed to make my hair look half-way decent, I awkwardly slunk back into the study like an elfling that had gotten a good scolding and silently took a seat in a different chair. I figured he would know I was hiding behind the pile of scrolls and would probably tell me off for that too, so better to choose the safer option.

"Much better, for now." Elrond said, putting his book down on the table. "We will do something about that later. Your schedule, then. You will work at the library with Erestor in the early mornings. I have not had the opportunity to work anything else out yet, so until I do you will be spending the entire day there. My son, Elladan, works there on occasion as well. You will do anything Erestor asks of you without argument. Believe me; you do not want to make him angry. Which means _do not_ be late."

"What will I be doing there?" I asked boredly. _The library, really? Could he have given me anything more boring to do? _I thought bleakly.

"Mostly keeping the books in order." Elrond explained and took a sip of his tea. "You can read, yes?" He asked, and just for a moment I thought he looked a little worried about something.

"Yes. I can read and write in most dialects of Sindarin." I replied, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. _Well, I am being punished; it could_ _be mucking out the stables or something. The library is not _that _bad, really. It could be worse. _I told myself.

"There is just one more thing." Elrond said. "Are you listening?" I looked up at him, blearily.

"Yes I am. What?" I muttered. If my flippant tone annoyed him, he ignored it.

"You are going to have to start acting like the young lady you are. No more of this nonsense." He told me, with a smile that quite plainly told me he was up to something. _Ugh. Great. I have no idea how to behave like a lady, and if I wanted to I would. _I complained inwardly. Well, there was nothing for it but to set off for the library. I was not looking forward to it, but I did not exactly have all that much of a choice, either. I only hoped he did not expect me to prance about in a gown with jewels in my hair every day. I had promised myself out of respect that I would not purposely cause problems for him. I had to keep reminding myself of that fact or I would surely lose my mind over what he had just asked of me.

* * *

After sending Erulissë on her way with instructions to find the library, I set out to the council house. As expected, I found Glorfindel in my office buried under a pile of paperwork. He had his sleeves pushed up over his arms to keep them out of his way and the long golden hair for which he had been named was tied back into a loose pony-tail. Thankfully, the rest of the office was still tidy. Glorfindel was never really one for office work and when forced to do it, his surroundings usually looked a tornado had struck when he was finished. I felt a little bad for him, honestly. While I was visiting Lorien he had promised to keep everything in order for me. I tried to warn him it would be a lot of work, but orcs would fly before he listened to me. Maybe that was what I liked about him – he did not just obey every word I said without question. Of course, I dashed that thought from my mind quickly as I realized that Erulissë did practically the same thing.

"It looks like you are having a hard time staying afloat there, Fin." I said, smiling as he had not noticed me enter the office. "Not drowning in all that are you?" The balrog slayer looked up in surprise and his handsome face broke into a grin.

"Good to see you back, _mellon nín_. (My friend) How was your trip? Did Asfaloth have a nice time?" He asked good-naturedly. I smiled in spite of myself and sat in the smaller wooden chair in front of my desk. Sometimes, I truly believed that Glorfindel's steadfast companionship was the one single thing that kept me sane. No matter how depressed I was feeling, he could always bring a smile to my face.

"It was… eventful. And yes, I do think your noble steed enjoyed the vacation." I answered thoughtfully. "There are no orcs in Lorien yet, by the way. That seems to be an isolated issue."

"It was not supposed to be a political trip, El." Glorfindel retorted sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "So, how would you define 'eventful' then?" Hesitantly, I explained the whole situation with Erulissë. To my surprise, the seneschal was rather enthusiastic about the whole ordeal and helped come up with some relatively useful suggestions to keep her occupied. It was funny. I had only stayed in Lorien a week before leaving to return to Rivendell. Yet, I felt as though I had been away for a half an age. Yes, I was definitely happy to be home and I doubted I would willingly leave the valley again for a long time. Maybe it was just that the elves in Rivendell were not so care-worn had not forgotten how to find joy in simpler things. Either way, speaking with Glorfindel seemed to lift a weight from my chest.

"There is something else, too." I said after a while. I had not been sure I wanted to discuss it with anyone, but Glorfindel was easily the one person in middle earth I trusted the most. If I could not tell him then I certainly had a bit of a problem. "I had a very strange vision this morning." I continued and went on to describe the vision of the twins and the strange _elleth _(female elf) that had manifested while behind the council house earlier. He listened with rapt attention and honestly looked as lost and confused as I felt.

"Well, at least there were not any balrogs. You know how I feel about that." He answered in a subdued manner. "Who knows? Maybe they _are_ your children and the Valar have grand plans for you. Or, perhaps they were symbolic of something else. I have no idea about the woman. An elven woman with blonde hair – that's the majority of practically our entire race. She could have been anyone. The only thing I can tell you is to be in the garden at midnight on midsummer."

"I suppose that is all I can do." I replied and bid Glorfindel a good afternoon. I was not sure how I felt about the possibility of the little girls being my children. Part of me hoped that they would be, and that the vision was a sign of a new beginning. I longed for the simpler days when Elladan and Elrohir had been small and spent their afternoons napping in my lap while I read a book or tallied the ledgers. But the more logical side could not help but serve to remind me that my wife was waiting for me in Valinor and that I would _never _consider betraying her by loving another – whether I ever joined her or not. _But would she have moved on by now? It has been so long…_ I pondered as I slowly made my way to the house of healing in silence.


	4. A Shadow Approaches

**Rating (This Chapter):** M

**Pairings (This Chapter):** Elrond/Gil-Galad

**Warnings (This Chapter):** Slash (malexmale)

**Notes:** Yes, I just took part of this chapter from The Nightingale's Song, but this story _is_ a revamp of that and honestly... I liked writing the few paragraphs in question too much let them rot with that mess. …Though I decided to move the 'something fun' I mentioned in my note from the last chapter to the next since I figured I didn't want this whole chapter to be a smutfest, lol.

There might be some typos in here, my beta's on vacation and I'm impatient, haha. So if you see one please let me know, I would really appreciate it.

* * *

**Chapter 4: A Shadow Approaches**

* * *

"We have to get up soon, you know." The Noldorin king said and ran his fingers through my silken raven hair. Sunlight shone mercilessly through an arched window and birds sang merrily. It was an almost surreal atmosphere, really. The perfect morning to wake up to naked and all wrapped up in each other's arms as if we had not a care in the world.

"Not just yet." I replied with a soft sigh. I had no desire to move from the warmth of Gil-Galad's embrace. It was just too peaceful. We could stay a while longer. As if in silent agreement he placed a chaste kiss on my forehead. Before I could respond, he had claimed my lips passionately and rolled over on top of me. There was nothing heated or rushed about the movement. It was lazy and deliberately slow. "We have all the time in the world." I breathed when my king released me from the kiss.

"Do we really?" Gil-Galad asked rhetorically, brushing a strand of my hair away from my face. He smiled, but it wasn't a true smile. Behind it I sensed emptiness and regret.

"Yes, for just this moment time stands still for us." I answered as I reached up and touched his cheek comfortingly. Truth be told, I was worried about tomorrow. Something seemed wrong – something terrible was going to happen. I knew that, but not what exactly. Whatever it was, I refused to waste any time worrying about it at the moment. "_Uivelin le_. (I will always love you)" I added softly.

"And I, you." Gil-Galad replied, pulling me tightly against him. _Whatever it is I have seen… let it be for now and just let us share this moment_. I thought to myself desperately. "Might I make love to you?" He asked quietly, as if he had heard my thoughts.

"Must you ask?" I said, playfully and ruffled Gil-Galad's chocolate-brown hair. "My answer is always the same."

"As is my answer to that." Gil-Galad replied with a sly wink. I gave him an amused glance in reply and trailed light touches across his chest. Nothing was ever rushed or too needy about the way we made love. It was always slow and passionate. Each touch was sensual and drawn out, as if we really did have all the time in the world. It was our way of letting go of all our cares for a while and just basking in the comfort and safety of each other's presence. This particular morning was no different.

I languished in the sensation of Gil-Galad's bare skin against mine. I breathed deeply as the Noldorin king teasingly licked a nipple and gave it the gentlest nip. Calloused hands slid across my skin with ease, awakening my desire. It always amazed me that Gil-Galad's touches could be so soft; it was as though it were a different person who was such a fearsome warrior for his touch was as gentle as a healer's. Somehow he also knew just where and how to touch me and have me completely unwound in minutes. Just as Gil-Galad very lightly stroked my hardening length, some poor sod had the audacity to knock on the door. The offending sound echoed almost deafeningly through the king's quarters. I winced and made uncertain eye contact with my beloved king. So much for time standing still. Gil-Galad made a quiet sound of frustration, but to my surprise, ignored it.

Yet somehow… The knocking persisted. The sunlight went dark, too, and with it the warmth. Where had Gil-Galad gone? All of a sudden he'd vanished. I reached over to the other side of the bed but felt only undisturbed sheets. I was cold, too, I realized.

"_Adar_?" A familiar voice called. Ah, one of the twins. _Wait… twins?_ I opened my eyes reluctantly. I was very much alone in my room in Rivendell – not in Gil-Galad's chambers in the kingdom of Lindon bathed in sunlight and the warmth of his presence. No, I was alone in this room that I had once shared with Celebrian. A pang of guilt tore through me. I loved her, yes, but even she had known I married her as a hopeless attempt to fill the void that had been torn in my soul when Gil-Galad perished. Our time together had been filled with happiness, and our children had brought immeasurable joy to my life. Yet even then, not a day passed that I did not think of Ereinion Gil-Galad. Miserably, I forced myself to wake up and face reality. It was just barely dawn, and the air was filled with the chill of an early summer morning. Strange, how cold it was that year even with the drought. There was, However, some rather embarrassing (not to mention hard) evidence of the pleasant dream.

"Yes?" I answered, turning on my side to relieve some of the pressure of my awkward position.

"When you get up, Lord Glorfindel needs to speak with you, he said it is urgent. He is waiting for you in the house of healing." Elladan. It had to be; Elrohir probably would have burst in the room without knocking. While they might look identical, the twins were very much two different people. _Unless_… _I was not moaning in my, sleep was I?_

"Very well." I said simply. I had to go to the house of healing anyway. "Make sure Erulissë brushes her hair before she leaves, please. She has no concept of behaving like a woman." I added, assuming he would have found out about her staying with us by now even though I had not been afforded the chance to speak to the twins about her. He muttered something sarcastic about whether or not I had been having a good dream as he turned and left without a proper reply. _I suppose that answers the question about whether or not I was moaning in my sleep. _I thought, somewhat amused.

When I heard my son's footsteps retreating down the stairs, I slipped a hand under the covers and began stroking myself languidly. _What is this about, now? Am I still an elfling?_ I pondered, realizing that this was the first time since the second age that I could remember waking up in such a state. True, I dreamed of Gil-Galad often – usually when under a lot of stress. But it had been a very long time since I had woken up quite so... aroused. _Pathetic._ _Maybe Glorfindel is right. Maybe I do need a companion. I hate sleeping alone; I never… Got used to it._ I mused as I came with a soft gasp. It was not particularly satisfying, but better than a cold bath. I buried my face in the pillow. It was going to be a bad day, if it had started like this. Maybe I would just stay home with a bottle of wine and that stray dog Elrohir had brought home a year or so ago for company – I could find him sleeping in the gardens probably. ...After I went to see whatever it was Glorfindel wanted. But first, I had to find the will to get out of bed and my prospects were not looking good.

* * *

The first day working at the library had been boring and rather aggravating. I had spent hours going over the check-out ledgers to see what was still missing. By the time I was done, I thought my eyes might be bleeding and I swear I could not see straight. Just when I thought I was finally done, Erestor would swoop in like some kind of obsessive vulture and give me some other menial task to occupy myself with. Luckily for him, I was too preoccupied with worrying about Elrond's plans to have me learn to behave like a proper lady to give him any trouble. Because _Valar_ I was going to give him all sorts of trouble once I figured out what bothered him the most. Erestor had all of Rumil's stubbornness with an extra helping of tenacity. But, he was Elrond's chief adviser. Just like Rumil having been responsible for keeping the border-guards in order, Erestor must have been responsible for plenty of things in Rivendell. Though, I had figured out that he was meticulous to a fault and if so much as a page was out of place, he got antsy about it. Whatever my plan would be, it certainly involved a bit of switching books around in completely inappropriate places. And being late – I knew being late would drive him up the wall.

I rolled over in bed, irritably. Speaking of being late, I was already late. Oh well. I did_ not _want to go back there today. All I could do was hope that Elrond had arranged for me to do something else later on. Even an hour less would be preferable. _And yesterday was only half a day because I slept until noon. _I thought in absolute misery and rolled over to shield my eyes from the morning sunlight streaming in through the bed's canopy from the large windows. Well, I would just have to employ that tactic again. Or, I would have if someone had not knocked lightly on the door. _Damn it all._ I whined inwardly.

"Yes?" I called sleepily without moving.

"Hey, I would not be any later if I were you – Erestor is going to tan both of our hides so you might as well get up unless you want to deal with my father too." Someone called from the other side of the door. I had no idea who it was, but it must have been one of Elrond's sons. "I might add that _Adar_ is not in a good mood so avoiding him for a while might be a pretty good plan." He continued and walked away, his footsteps echoing slightly in the entry hall/study. With a frustrated sigh I threw my covers off a little more violently than necessary and got out of bed. Regardless of what Erestor's reaction to my tardiness might be, I really did not want Elrond to catch me being late. Hurriedly, I threw on some clean clothes and pulled my hair back into a messy pony-tail.

Out in the entry hall, Elrond's twin sons were sitting at the table. The pile of scrolls had apparently been relocated to the floor next to them. They really did resemble him, but were a little bit younger in appearance and were absolutely impossible to tell apart. Their youth compared to Elrond's, I assumed was simply the fact that they were not weighed down by the same cares as their father. They were much older than me, after all. One of them was dressed in light-weight leather armor similar to what I usually wore with a bow and quiver slung across his back, the other was wearing dark red and gold casual robes. Both of them had their hair pulled back into matching braids.

"So, you must be Erulissë. Glorfindel told us about you." The twin wearing armor said with a coy smile. Now these two, I had to admit, were easily the most ungodly handsome members of the male species I had yet seen. Yet, I would have bet anything that they had absolutely no interest in women what so ever - judging from their mannerisms at least. "I have seen you before as part of my grandmother's entourage when she had visited here in the past." He added.

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "The last time I was here was at least two hundred years ago. You remember me?"

"You were the only female guard, to be fair." He replied with an offhand shrug. "Anyway, I am Elrohir and that is Elladan."

"You are not really going to out like that, are you? Your hair is completely out of control." The twin wearing the robes, Elladan, said with a mischievous smile. They were scheming something, I could tell. Immediately, I liked them. I could imagine getting up to quite a bit of shenanigans with these two.

"You sound like your father." I muttered. "And as a matter of fact, yes I _am_ going out like this." The twins made eye contact for a moment and dissolved into laughter. I stared at them, unsure if they were making fun of me or if I should laugh along with them.

"As a matter of fact, no, you are _not _going out like that." Elladan said finally, composing himself. "Come on, I will fix your hair for you. But you are on your own after this." I opened my mouth to argue, but he gently took hold of my arm and nearly dragged me across the way back to my rooms.

"Have fun, Elladan. I wish I could help, seeing as it is sure to be entertaining, but Glorfindel will skin me alive if I am late for my patrol again." Elrohir commented, his grey eyes shining with mirth. Elladan stuck his tongue out at his twin and gave me a shove through the door to my room. Wordlessly, but seething with indignation, I sat in the chair near the vanity. It took Elladan the better part of an hour to brush out my hair and neatly braid the front part of it. Much to my chagrin, I had to admit that it looked much better than before. And whenever no one was looking I would run my fingers through it in complete amazement that my hair could feel so soft.

"How come _he_ gets to sleep half the day?" I asked sarcastically as we left the house on the way to the library. Today was one of the relatively rare days that I would be working with Elladan. I hoped that meant Erestor would be off doing something else. I had a feeling Elladan could be a pain, but we got along easily and were fast becoming friends.

"He is not having a good morning. I would not be surprised if he spends the entire day half-drunk in his study." Elladan replied after a long pause. "He has been thinking of _Naneth_ (mother) and Arwen lately. Either that or he had a vision that has him worried." I decided it would be best not inquire about whatever vision he might have had as my dreams about him and the strange twins who called me their mother came to mind. Nor did I particularly want to ask about Celebrian. I knew that she had sailed west without him, but not the circumstances. Indeed, I only I even knew her name because she was Galadriel's daughter and her leaving middle earth was still one of the few things anyone talked about in Caras Galadhon - even all these years later. I followed Elladan in silence, until a thought came to my mind, regarding those damned dreams.

"Where are the gardens?" I asked suddenly, just as we began climbing the marble stairs to the library. He turned around and gave me an odd look.

"Why?" He asked, sounding suspicious.

"I heard that they are beautiful in the summer and I would like to see them if I get the chance." I answered in what I hoped was an innocent tone. The look he gave me was strange, almost judgmental.

"They are the most beautiful during midsummer. You should wait and go then." He said, his eyes meeting mine. "Go at midnight on midsummer's eve."

"Why midsummer's eve?" I inquired, trying to keep my voice even. _Did he know somehow? Do Elrond's sons have visions like he does? _I thought frantically. But Elladan's mischievous, knowing smile answered the question for me.

"You have a long way to go. You might want to think about _next_ summer." He said flippantly and laughed heartily. "Though, it is beautiful at midnight on midsummer's eve because the moon is closest then and the way its light reflects off the water in the pond is breathtaking." I looked at the ground in shame and briskly walked past him and in the silence of the library. It was then that another thought came to mind. Was it really Elrond in the dream or one of the twins? They resembled him so closely, but I had not known that before. _No, it could not be. Yesterday he was wearing that same coat that was he wearing in the dream. _I told myself as I looked over my shoulder at Elladan. _He is also taller than me, Elladan and Elrohir are around the same height as me. _Lost in thought I wandered into the library and very nearly walked into the table closest to the door.

I think I would have really liked the library if not for Erestor's constant hovering. Many of the texts stored there were written in languages I did not even know existed and the desire to be able to read them lured me like a moth to a flame. Somehow, the crisp scent of old paper that hung in the air was exhilarating. The place itself was enormous – one could get lost within the maze of shelves full neatly organized books and scrolls that nearly touched the high, arched ceiling. It could be paradise if not for the cranky _ellon_ in charge of it. The elf in question stood in front of the main desk as Elladan and I approached with a scowl on his face. We exchanged a glance and prepared for a good scolding.

* * *

It was nearly noon when I finally decided that I could not hide in my bedchamber all day. I felt weak and at first very nearly thought better of it. _Glorfindel can handle whatever it is. _I told myself, staring at the bed I had vacated. _There is no need for me to go. _I did get dressed, though, with some effort. I did not deal well with stress, and even less so after Arwen's passing. Recent events had finally caught up with me and my mind was a befuddled mess over the vision I had. And now, now here I was dreaming about Gil-Galad. _This is all rather overwhelming. _ I complained to myself as I clumsily pulled on a green satin overcoat. Feeling lost, I wandered out of my chambers and downstairs into the study. For a moment, I thought perhaps I was seeing things until I realized that yes; Glorfindel was sitting at the table.

"Good afternoon." He said with a cheeky smile. "I was wondering if I was going to have to come up there." I said nothing and took a seat beside him and leaned forward against the table for support with my head in my hands. "Bad day?" He asked rhetorically and placed a hand on my shoulder comfortingly.

"Elladan said you needed to speak to with me. I was on my way." I replied. "Sorry for being so late." I added with a sigh and chose not to reply to his comment about me having a bad day. He knew, anyway. And I would be willing to bet the twins asked him to check on me as it was always him they went to when I decided it was high time for a breakdown.

"I do not blame you. But I did need to talk with you. Do you think you can sit through a council meeting in a little under an hour?" He asked, concerned.

"A council meeting? Now? Why?" I inquired, looking up at him, finally.

"Our orc problem just got a whole lot worse." Glorfindel explained. "They seem to be very well organized. We do not know who is leading them, but no orc troupe is intelligent enough to attempt to set fire to the woods of Lorien."

"Lorien? Wait, when was this? What happened?" I demanded, suddenly feeling a bit more awake. As much as I would rather sit alone and dwell on my own problems, I was still the Lord of Imladris and if there was a crisis situation, then my guidance would be needed no matter what sort of state I was in.

"There is some damage to the outlaying woodlands, but Caras Galadhon and all who live there are safe. The border-guards there made short work of the orcs. Though, truth be told Rumil said to me that the fires likely would not have been set if Erulissë had been there. Apparently she was the only one who knew the woods well enough to be alone near the outer borders at night." Glorfindel explained. "I wonder if she noticed anything out of the ordinary there before she got herself into trouble and got sent here."

"We could ask her, she should be at the library with Elladan." I suggested. In agreement, we set off toward the library. I only hoped Erulissë had brushed her hair, there was a very good chance the twins would have either ignored me or let it be for a joke. That might not have been a bad thing, though. If they picked on her for it, maybe she would put some more effort into her appearance to spite them. Somehow, I most unfortunately doubted that.

I was proven wrong on both accounts when I saw her, however. One of them must have done her hair for her. At first, I did not even recognize that the pretty young _elleth_ that was leaned over the check-out ledger half asleep was indeed Erulissë. Her frizzy mane of golden hair was now neatly tamed with the front sides braided and tied behind her head with a white ribbon. Once she heard the sound of our footsteps approaching, she picked her head up and glared at us warily.

"You look much nicer today." I told her, deciding that complimenting her might be a good idea. If I expected her to co-operate it would best if I did not aggravate her – intentionally or otherwise. She nodded silently.

"Erestor is at the council house. He got called away for something. Elladan is in the office." She replied boredly. "Please tell me you have come to rescue me and have something else for me to do because my eyes are going to bleed if I look at this any longer." Glorfindel laughed, the sound echoing through the cavernous rooms of the library. I smiled slightly in spite of my rather dismal mood and introduced her to Glorfindel.

"I might. But that all depends. When you were on patrol in Lorien you guarded the outer borders by yourself at night, correct?" I inquired of her.

"Yes, but usually only the southern border. No one else wanted to do it. They were all too afraid of being separated from the group and getting lost. Usually, they did not even want to go in a group as they assumed it would be safer to manage with threats deeper in the woods as it would be easier to have the element of surprise. Poor tactics in my opinion." Erulissë explained. "As it happens, it is a pretty reasonable fear to not want to be alone there at night. It can be dangerous. I never minded, though. I can fight well and being alone meant I did not have to listen to Rumil's ranting."

"How is it dangerous?" Glorfindel asked, curiously. Like me, he was probably having a hard time trying to wrap his head around the idea that the warriors of the Galadhrim might be afraid of their own woodlands. That certainly was strange.

"There are foul beasts that come out after sunset near the south border. That is a recent thing, though. The first time I saw one was only about twenty years ago. I have been guarding that area for about two hundred years. We have no idea where they came from, aside from possibly Fangorn. The beasts, since we really never knew what else to call them, resemble the wargs used as mounts by the orcs during the war. But they are much bigger and carry with them the scent of dead flesh. They despise the light, and truly the only way I have ever been able to kill one was by luring it out of hiding in the early dawn. Somehow the light makes them weak, but at night they are nigh impossible to even harm. Even in the sun, they are formidable enemies." She explained, twirling a lock of her hair around her right index finger.

"I have never heard of anything like that." I said, looking at Glorfindel who shook his head as well. "Was there anything else out of the ordinary that happened recently?"

"Not really, aside from the guard who went missing on my shift. But, you were there for that and no one knew how he died. Though, it could not have been the beasts or there would not have been a body to find. Maybe a bloodstain if he was a lucky one. Either way that was in the middle of the day and they do not come out then." Erulissë told us thoughtfully. "Though, thinking about it. There was something that had been a bit strange. Even with the beasts the woods of Lorien were always thick with animals - mostly deer and rabbits and the like. But lately, I have not seen any animals in the outer borders aside from some birds, but they did not linger either. I thought maybe the beasts ate them, but something did not feel right about that, either."

"Did anyone ever report anything about these beasts to Galadriel or Celeborn?" Glorfindel asked, sounding as confused as he looked.

"No. They never harmed anyone that was not stupid enough to mess with them. We did not deem them a threat as they never went much more than a few hundred feet into the woods. They always stayed close to the southern border, I think they may go there to hunt at night but their nests are likely in Fangorn or the plains of Rohan." Erulissë told him. "Well, what they were hunting I have no idea, but their behavior is that of a predator looking for an evening meal."

"I wonder then if the orcs are hiding in Fangorn." Glorfindel said to me. "The fires that were set in Lorien were started along the southern border."

"Someone set fire to the Golden Wood?!" Erulissë cried, nearly jumping over the counter. "Who in the names of the _Valar _would do such a thing?"

"Orcs, apparently." I answered. "But we are trying to figure out who might be behind it because they are not intelligent enough to think of something like that on their own as the fires were deliberately set and not accidental."

"Do not worry, _pen-vuil _(dear one)." Glorfindel said kindly. "Caras Galadhon is safe and there was very little damage with no causalities."

"That may be, but what sort of monster would even _think_ to harm such a sacred place?" She asked with sadness in her eyes. I wished I had known so that I could answer her, really. I would not have thought anything could upset Erulissë, yet the mere thought that anyone would harm the woods of Lorien had nearly put her into a rage. Perhaps she did indeed have a kinder side that she kept well hidden.

"We will find out." I told her. "Please find Elladan and tell him you are leaving, I want you to attend a council meeting with Glorfindel and I as you are more familiar with that area than anyone here." She nodded in assent, but really she was probably just glad to be out of the library. ...Which meant I needed to do something with her as surely she would be up to no good if she decided to be rebellious about her unhappiness with the arrangement.


	5. Letting Go

**Rating (This Chapter):** M

**Pairings (This Chapter):** Elrond/Glorfindel

**Warnings (This Chapter):** Graphic slash (malexmale)

**Notes:** Ok, this is kind of a long chapter, but I didn't want to be that person that makes you wait until the next one for the good part, haha.

Again, beta's on vacation, if anyone notices a typo, please tell me so I can fix it. There probably are a few. *hides*

* * *

**Chapter 5: Letting Go**

* * *

When Elrond told me that he wanted me to attend a council meeting with him, I was not sure to be ecstatic to get out of checking over the library's ledgers or to dread it. I mean, what could be more boring than a bunch of old elves talking politics? As it happens, the council meeting was not nearly as tiresome as I had imagined. Rivendell's orc problem also was a lot more serious than I had assumed, though to be fair the guards played it down a lot to keep people from panicking. Rumil was there as well, and in spite of our history I was glad to see a familiar face in the council room aside from Glorfindel, Elrond and Elrohir. Erestor was also there, but we were not exactly on the best terms after mine and Elladan's tardiness that morning. Apparently arriving two hours late to work was absolutely unacceptable. He had gone as far as calling us both useless and making a comment that we did not have half a brain between us. Elladan burst into laughter as soon as Erestor left the library to attend to business here at the council house. I, on the other hand, was rather offended.

"How have you been doing here?" Rumil asked as I took a seat between him and Glorfindel. Much like everything else in Rivendell, the council hall was extravagant and richly decorated. There were delicate vine patterns carved into the wooden walls and the large round table with its matching chairs in the center of the room seemed to be carved from the same stone of the rocky mountainside itself. It was appeared as though the room had no walls as they were almost entirely comprised of tall arched windows through which most of Rivendell was visible.

"All right. I am a bit bored, though." I answered trying to be civil. It would not do to cause a scene here. That as it turned out was an excellent judgment call as Lady Galadriel herself entered the room just as I was finishing the sentence.

"You do not work with the guards here?" He inquired, curiously.

"No. Lord Elrond does not allow me to leave the valley." I replied shortly, certain I could feel Galadriel's penetrating gaze behind me. "When did this happen – the fires I mean?" I asked, trying unsuccessfully to drag my heavy stone chair closer to the table so I could see what I was doing a little better. I was shorter than the average elf and nothing in any elven residence was ever designed to be friendly to the shorter ones.

"Two days after you left." He replied and made to say something else, but decided not to as Elrond had just stood and called for everyone's attention after Galadriel had taken her seat.

"Very well then. We are all here so let us begin this meeting." Elrond said as everyone fell silent and turned to face him. I had to admit, command came naturally to him and he had a sort of natural charisma I had never seen before. He did seem tired though, or maybe depressed. I could not be certain, but something about him was definitely off. _Elladan said he was having a bad day. I wonder what that means. _I pondered to myself as I watched the lord of Imladris who was across the table from me with Galadriel and Erestor at his sides. "We have had reason, though mostly theories leavened with paranoia, that the recent orc attacks on the Great East Road and the Gap of Rohan may have been organized. By whom, we are not certain."

"We do not have any proof of this, however." Erestor continued as Elrond took his seat. "Nor any way to know what they will do next." For a while, there was talk about the wandering orc troupes and possible strategies that they may have employed. But before long, the conversation turned to the attack on Lorien. I stayed silent and listened with interest; I knew that speaking out of turn likely would have been a bad idea, even though I wanted to beat Rumil senseless for leaving the southern border unguarded. If the council wanted my input, they would ask.

"I do not believe the fires were actually intended to do any damage." Rumil explained. "But rather, I think it may have been an attempt to draw our attention away from something else – a distraction if you will."

"A distraction from what, exactly?" Glorfindel asked. "What would interest a pack of orcs near the borders of Fangorn and Lorien? It is not as though there is anything hidden there and travelers rarely pass that way so there would not be any caravans to ransack."

"I do not know. The only place in Lorien worth sacking would be Caras Galadhon, but if that was their intention they would not have retreated to the plains." The Marchwarden replied. During the silence that followed, Lady Galadriel's met mine. I was certain that she saw what I was thinking, and almost in confirmation of this she nodded slightly as if willing me to me speak. Shyly, I raised my hand.

"Yes, Erulissë?" Elrond asked, giving me permission to speak.

"There is a cave entrance near the far eastern side of the southern border. I explored it once many years ago – it is quite expansive. If the fires were nearer the western side, they may have been trying to draw your attention from there. The caves extend through most of Lorien. There are no exits near Caras Galadhon, but there is one tunnel that passes out of the wood and deep into the Gap of Rohan. I do not know how far that passage goes, but I think it would end close to Edoras if it is not a dead end. The other exit that I know of is near the Redhorn Pass. If someone is leading the orcs, the caves would be a strategic base for them. They could easily pass through Lorien without being seen and either go over the pass or possibly into Rohan." I explained.

"Why did you never mention these caves to me _before_?" Rumil asked in disbelief.

"I thought you knew." I said with a shrug. "You _are _the Marchwarden. Knowing every inch of the woodlands is your job." He looked like he was about to start one of his fits of yelling at me when Galadriel spoke.

"Yes. I know of those caves. They have been there far longer than we have. It is the mist that comes from several underground springs there that give Lorien life and allow the _mellyrn_ trees to flourish." Galadriel replied and gave and Rumil a rather potent glare. Had she looked at me like that, there was a good chance I might have soiled myself. Even when she had cast me out of Lorien, Galadriel did not give me such a scathing glare. "Erulissë is right. You should have known about the caverns. But this is not the place to discuss technicalities of the responsibilities of the Marchwarden." It took all the self-control I could muster not to stick my tongue out at Rumil and laugh hysterically. Glorfindel on the other side of me shook his head in a way that quite plainly said he agreed.

"Orcs are not smart enough to come up with something like that." Elrohir said and looked at his father who made a soft sound of assent. "Someone has to be organizing them." This soon became the general consensus. Plans were made to infiltrate the caves and slay the orcs if they indeed were in there as well as to double scouting parties to gain any information about the orcs' movements. We also spoke about the beasts that had been appearing and their possible connection to the orcs due to in part to their resemblance to wargs.

"Nenya's power has faded completely since the destruction of the one ring. For all this time, it was this that kept our realm safe from evil. Now it falls to the border-guards to defend Lorien." Galadriel explained. "That is why these beasts can enter the wood, but only a short distance. I still have some power over our lands, but not nearly to the extent that I used to."

"We have never seen anything like them before, though." Rumil said. "It is as though they are dead things raised from the grave."

"Observe them." Elrond said. "Gather as much information about their habits as you can." Rumil looked like he had been handed a death sentence and glanced at me pleadingly.

"Stay in the trees. Put a foot on the ground and they will slaughter you. You know what happened the night when we lost Cuwen." I said, meeting his gaze. "There was nothing left to bury. You _need_ to be cautious." Cuwen was one of the few female members of the guard, and the only archer in Caras Galahon that could rival my skill with a bow. She had been one of the best warriors we had. I could remember that night like yesterday; it was the first time we saw the beasts. Rumil and I screamed for her to get into the trees with the rest of us, but Cuwen insisted that she could kill the thing. Rumil did nothing but watch in horror as she fought. I fired several arrows into what should have been vital points, but the monster barely flinched. It was overly quickly and Cuwen's body was torn asunder staining the golden leaves upon the ground red with elven blood. Rumil fainted and slumped against me. The rest of us did not dare move until the thing finally fled with the rising sun of the next dawn.

"But there is no way to kill the things! It looked like a pin cushion when you were done with it! The thing had a whole quiver of arrows in its neck and chest and it did not even mind!" Rumil retorted in exasperation.

"I have killed two of them by myself, with no help and a single arrow each. You need to lure them somewhere in open and trap them. It is not hard, they are relatively stupid. The sunlight makes them weak. Do not bother with a sword. It will still kill you with strength alone – you need archers." I told him, annoyed. _You are the Marchwarden of Lorien! Grow some courage! _I thought to myself angrily.

"Lure them?! Are you mad?" Rumil muttered. No one else in the room seemed to sympathize as his outburst was met only with a stony silence. He stopped talking but was obviously sulking.

"I think that is enough discussion on this matter. Rumil, you have your orders. Take however many men you need and clear out the caves. Observe these beasts and report to Celeborn regularly." Galadriel said in a tone that quite plainly dismissed Rumil's objections, whether he accepted it or not.

"Yes, my Lady." He said meekly. "But I want Erulissë. She apparently knows how to fight the things." I looked up at the Lady of the Wood hopefully. I was conflicted, though. Part of me wanted to stay in Rivendell as I was fast becoming accustomed to life there and because of the hope that I may one day achieve my dream of becoming a healer. The other part of me was seething with righteous rage against Rumil's oversight and the fact that a bunch of filthy orcs has been allowed to defile the woods. I may have been a slacker during the daytime, but being anything less than vigilant at night near the southern border would have been suicide. In other words, it would _not _have happened on my watch. Rumil knew that. That was why he had asked for me. Well, he was also terrified to death of the beasts after seeing what had happened to Cuwen and would not go near the southern border for anything. ...As was the case with most of the border-guards aside from a small handful of us. That fear was seriously being underestimated here.

"No." Galadriel said icily. "Erulissë shall stay here. If she is to be a part in this fight at all, it is up to Lord Elrond's discretion. I suggest you find the courage necessary to perform the tasks you have been ordered to carry out." I looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and anger. I was not angry because I was not being allowed to return home. I was angry because I was the only one in the room and in the border patrol that knew anything about how to fight the beasts as well as the general layout of the caves. I was the only advantage they would have. I looked away and aimed a ferocious kick at Rumil's chair under the table. He glared at me while I pretended to be unfazed by his attitude and the fact that I very nearly broke a toe on the hard stone chair leg. It was a good thing I was wearing sturdy leather boots and not the sandals I had been wearing yesterday. Explaining that to Elrond would have been difficult at best.

"Erulissë, you will find that you will be able help with this situation in other ways." Elrond said as though he had read my mind. "I know not what those ways will be, but you will be a part of it. That much, I have seen." _So he had a vision of me being in involved in this mess? _I thought as my eyes met his. _He is depressed. _I realized, answering my question from earlier as to what had been off about his behavior. Like Galadriel and many Sindarin elves, I possess an empathetic ability to sense emotions and sometimes thoughts from others nearby. However, I have nowhere near the level of psychic power she does, and Elrond was a very difficult read. He must have learned a very long time ago how to hide his emotions for one reason or another. The trick though, was that he was not always in control and if he was distracted that barrier would fall for just long enough for me to be able to tell what he was hiding. Which at that moment was an all-consuming, mindless sense of loss and loneliness. I had the strangest urge to embrace him in some attempt to soothe the sadness he was suffering. Instead, I stared at the colorful swirls of the inclusions in the stone that the great table in front me was carved from and kept any further comments about the situation in Lorien to myself.

"That is enough for today. Until we have any breakthroughs, there is nothing else we can do. I call this meeting adjourned unless there is anything else to be brought to the table." Elrond said in a dismissive manner. He wanted to leave, probably to go off somewhere to be alone where he did not have to put on a show of being strong and in control of the proceedings; I could tell. Luckily for him at least, there was nothing else to discuss and everyone present slowly filed out of the room. "Go back to the library, _pen-neth_." Elrond told me as I stood and stretched. I did not complain. I could tell it would only stress him further, besides it was nearly sunset and my shift would be over in a couple hours.

* * *

I was astounded by Erulissë's behavior during the meeting. She was respectful, provided useful information and did not rise to Rumil's blatant baiting. That surprised me as well. I had never seen Rumil behave in that manner before. But now, I understood why. It was obvious to me that he felt his job as Marchwarden was being threatened. Erulissë was a superior fighter, knew the woodlands better than he did and faced the beasts with observation, caution and logic rather than fear. He may have had the title of Marchwarden, but Erulissë was the one who really knew the territory. She seemed to have no sense of responsibility, yet when it was required of her she had the markings of a natural leader. I was certain that the border-guards would have answered to her just as easily as Rumil had she given an order, whether she had the authority to do so or not. Either way, I was beginning to question Galadriel's reasoning for casting her of the golden wood. Surely she knew what Erulissë's behavior was actually like. Where they saw an irresponsible trouble-maker, I saw a very intelligent and strong willed _elleth. She could deal with some lessons in etiquette. _I thought vaguely. But that was it, really. She could be unintentionally rude, but Erulissë was not immature or careless. Not even when that scout was killed, it was not her fault he failed to defend to himself – perhaps _he_ had been careless.

"What are you thinking about?" Glorfindel asked as he helped organize my paperwork. We were the only two left in the room. "It is just that you seem distracted."

"It is Erulissë. I am not sure what Galadriel's intentions are." I answered. "Her knowledge of those creatures and the caverns would provide them a major advantage, but Galadriel requested she must remain here." Glorfindel shook his head and gazed out the window at the street bathed in orange light from the setting sun seemingly lost in thought.

"I have never seen Rumil behave in that manner. It is no wonder Erulissë gives him so much trouble. Obviously she is better at the job than he is, so he torments her by holding the title of Marchwarden over her head like dangling a piece of meat just out of the reach of a starving animal." He said after a while. "Thinking of that - I am willing to bet she has not given you any trouble, has she."

"No, she really has not. She does need to learn some manners, though." I told him.

"Of course not." Glorfindel said. "Because you actually possess authority - not merely a title and she obviously respects you. She does not, however, respect Rumil and I cannot fault her for that. He is a skilled warrior, but a poor leader." I had not thought of this, having assumed by Galadriel's comments about her, that Erulissë did not have respect for anyone in a position of authority. I could see now, that it was absolutely untrue. She was respectful of Galadriel as well. When she had told her that she had to remain in Rivendell, Erulissë looked angrier than I had yet seen but she made no comment. Nor did she refuse to return to the library when I told her to, even though I knew she loathed being there.

"I think you are right." I conceded.

"I am always right." Glorfindel said playfully. "You should go home. I will take care of that mountain of paperwork in your office."

"No, I will do it." I said, surprising myself. "I do not want to be alone right now." I said quietly seeing as it was only the two of us there and Glorfindel probably knew what was going through my mind anyway.

"I think that is better for you. I will help with the paperwork." He said with a smile as there was a light knock on the door. We turned around to see none other than the Lady of the Wood standing in the open doorway.

"I am glad you are still here, I wanted a chance to speak to you alone." She said to me.

"I will meet you in your office, then." Glorfindel said, taking the hint. "I wish you a safe journey home in case we do not speak again before you leave, ___hiril nín_. (my lady)" He added to Galadriel with a slight bow as he passed her by and left the room.

"I am leaving." Galadriel said shortly, her clear blue eyes meeting mine. "The sea calls to me." I stared at her in disbelief. I had always known the day would come that she and Celeborn would leave middle earth, but I had not expected it to be now. And for the first time I noticed that she was not dressed in her usual attire but instead wore a simple, delicately embroidered silver hooded robe. It was more suited to traveling than the flowing gowns she favored.

"And Celeborn?" I asked weakly.

"He will remain behind for a time, until this threat has passed and then he will join Celebrian and I. The Galadhrim cannot be left without a leader. Rumil has a good heart, but he is a poor leader." She replied. Her voice was calm, but I sensed worry. Galadriel was strong, but so was her bond with Celeborn. Leaving him behind was not a choice they had made lightly. "Please entrust this to Erulissë when you feel the time is right. I would take it with me, but its power will likely be needed in the future." She said and gently pressed Nenya into the palm of my hand.

"Very well." I said resignedly. I knew there was no arguing with her. One did not simply win an argument with the Lady of Lorien. "But the three no longer have any power."

"They do not now, but they may yet again." Galadriel said cryptically, her eyes shifting to my left hand where I still wore Vilya. "But that is not what matters now."

"Would you forgive me, if I choose to remain here indefinitely?" I asked, finally. I had been avoiding this conversation for nearly an age, but I would have no closure if I did not ask now. Galadriel smiled wistfully.

"I knew you would stay here. I was just wondering if you would ever admit that to yourself." She replied. "I would of course, forgive you. Though, the question I believe you really meant to ask was whether or not Celebrian will forgive you. Yes, Elrond, I am sure she will. You on the other hand, need to find the strength to forgive yourself."

"Thank you." I said quietly. "_Navaer_. (Farewell)" It felt strange to no longer bear the dread for the day I would have to leave Rivendell forever. I was free now to choose my own path, like a bird released from the prison of a small cage. Regret still clawed at my soul, however. _Forgive myself... How can I ever forgive myself? _I thought miserably. Indeed, _how _could I ever forgive myself for being unable to heal her? I dashed these thoughts from my mind. I was both too tired and too depressed to deal with them.

When I finally reached the house of healing, I had managed to reign in my emotions. If I had been on the verge of a breakdown this morning, now it was only a matter of time. Thankfully, it was mostly deserted aside from the young secretary seated at the front desk who greeted me cordially in passing. In my mind I wanted to be at home curled up with a bottle of wine, but sitting in my office with Glorfindel was preferable to letting Erulissë see me in such a state. The house of healing, if nothing else, was a sanctuary to me. My office there was like a second home.

"Finally. I was beginning to think you had changed your mind. The paperwork is done by the way." Glorfindel said indicating a neatly stacked pile of parchment sheets in front of him as I entered, pulling the large oaken double doors shut behind me. "I brought the wine, and you do definitely look like you need some." I sighed heavily and leaned against the cool wooden surface of the door and trailed my fingers along the pattern of the tree branches that were carved there. When shut, the carving on the doors formed the motif of a great oak tree with red agate stones inlaid for the leaves.

"Galadriel is leaving." I said after a time and collapsed onto the large red sofa on the other side of the room. This place really was a sort of haven for me. Book shelves, mostly full of my own research in both medicine and lore, dominated the wall-space. Above them, wooden panels matching the carving of the doors and the front of the desk reached to the ceiling. The only window was behind the desk and had heavy crimson drapes with golden tassels that matched the sofa drawn closed across it. A chandelier fitted with the same translucent red stone as the woodwork hung from the ceiling above, a glowing crystal within gave a warm ambiance to the room. The air in there smelled faintly of old paper and medicinal herbs. It was a scent that was both relaxing and inspiring to me.

"Of course she is leaving; she has to return to Caras Galadhon." Glorfindel said, getting up and pouring some red wine into a crystal goblet.

"No, Fin. She is _leaving._" I said, slumping against the arm rest of the sofa.

"Oh." Was all he said as he came to sit next to me and handed me the goblet of wine. There really was nothing more to say on the matter so we sat together and said nothing more. I drank the wine and stared blankly at the empty goblet that was stained slightly from the red liquid. Glorfindel seemed lost in thought, his eyes focused on something in the distance. I could almost hear his mind working. It was a strained silence, but I was still grateful for Glorfindel's presence. Letting go of Celebrian was going to be very difficult for me. _All this time I have always loved her and never would have imagined we would part. _Losing Gil-Galad had been painful, but we knew all along that our time together was not meant to last for the ages. But when I wed Celebrian, I was so certain that she would be with me forever. Watching her board that ship as she left middle earth, with our children clinging to me like elflings was one my most bitter memories.

"I have decided to remain in Rivendell indefinitely." I said after a time.

"I could never imagine you leaving. I knew you would choose that path eventually." Glorfindel replied. "But this is good news, yes? It means you are finally letting go."

"I suppose." I said with weariness in my voice.

"Do not think I am being insensitive, but you should find someone." He suggested offhandedly.

"I do not need nor want a lover." I responded, frowning. "You should know that by now."

"All right, fine. But just be honest with me for a moment here; when was the last time you bedded someone?" Glorfindel asked in a demanding tone. I glared daggers at him before answering.

"Not since before Celebrian left, and it was her which I should think is obvious." I answered in a somewhat defiant manner.

"_Nan Aear a Geil!_ (By the sea and stars!) That is worse than I thought." Glorfindel said, shaking his head. "We have to fix that – immediately."

"No. Absolutely not." I argued. But like Galadriel, Glorfindel rarely lost an argument. _This is not going to end well for me. _I groused to myself as Glorfindel regarded me with an odd look in his eyes. He was scheming something, I knew it.

"Yes. Absolutely, _yes._ I am not saying you need to get romantically involved. You can have a tryst in the gardens with one of female border-guards for all the difference it would make. _I _will even do if it you want. If you could remember what it feels like to find comfort in another's touch when you are feeling lost, you would probably never drink wine again." Glorfindel said in exasperation.

"I am not having a tryst. And _Valar_ I am going to need a_ lot_ more wine to even think of considering that proposition." I muttered indignantly. Wordlessly, Glorfindel got up and took my empty wine glass and refilled it. On the way back to the sofa, he locked the door and put the key in his pocket.

"You are not leaving here until either you lay with me now or I have your word that you will remedy this on your own in a reasonable amount of time." He said firmly and handed the goblet to me, making sure to make eye contact to affirm that the words sank in. _Maybe he is right. Sex always was a better way of dealing with misery than alcohol during those years we wasted laying siege to Barad-dûr. _ I mused looking down at the wine. For a moment, I considered telling Glorfindel to unlock the door immediately and that it was none of his concern. But the words that I actually spoke surprised even me.

"Then you had best hide that key, assuming you can remember where it is, and bring me that whole damn bottle of wine." I demanded and downed the entire glass in a single gulp. If nothing else, it was all worth it to see the expression of total shock on the balrog slayer's face – even if I had no idea what had come over me. _I am probably going to regret this, but with any luck I will not remember it. _I reasoned as I shrugged off my overcoat and threw it aside carelessly. It would be one less thing to try and get out of while half drunk. Unfortunately, Glorfindel had gotten the local wine and not the stronger variety from Mirkwood. A whole bottle of wine was enough to make me feel sleepy and warm, but not enough to make the room spin. Due to my habit of drowning my loneliness in alcohol, I had developed a relatively high resistance to its effects over the years, even being a half elf. "Damn it all. Be gentle." I muttered and sat the empty bottle on the small table beside the sofa.

"I am always gentle." Glorfindel purred and moved closer, pressing himself against my back and resting his hand on my stomach. I closed my eyes and leaned into the embrace. It felt strange to be touched like this – strange due to the unfamiliarity of it, but not unpleasant. I gasped involuntarily when Glorfindel licked one of my ear tips and nibbled on it. The sensation went straight to my groin and my breath hitched in my throat when he slid his hand down from my stomach and very gently cupped the bulge in my trousers in his hand and squeezed lightly. "Let's get you out of these, hmm?" Not quite able to find my voice, I nodded and shakily sat up so he could help me undress. At first, I wished he had not moved as the warmth of his embrace had been twice as intoxicating as the wine. That thought, and any others I might have had vanished when he leaned forward and very softly touched his lips to mine in a tender kiss as he began unbuttoning my shirt. He coaxed my lips to part and explored my mouth with his tongue in a manner that was both deeply passionate and slow enough to be considerate of my lack of any recent experience. He gave me a light shove backwards into the couch when our lips parted. It was only when I felt the softness of the velvet on my bare back that I realized he had divested me of my shirt. I watched with lust filled eyes, as I was most certainly fully aroused by that point, as Glorfindel tossed his own shirt aside and straddled my hips. _Thank the Valar for this sofa. If it was any smaller this would be laughable. _I thought, somewhat amused.

"_Estelio enni_. (Trust in me)" Glorfindel said in a breathy whisper as he wrapped his fingers up in my hair and tugged gently before pulling me into another searching kiss. It was as though all the apprehension melted away with the kiss as I fell further out of coherence and gripped the side of the sofa for some kind of solid thing to hold onto. It was the sensation of his golden locks trailing against my bare chest that was driving me mad. I gasped for breath and moaned something in broken Quenya as his lips moved to my throat and he sucked at a spot there while he teased a nipple with his thumb.

"Fin!" I cried as he sucked at the same nipple and traced a pattern against my lower back with his other hand. Overcome by lust, I unconsciously arched my hips up against him so that our clothed erections touched. Hopelessly I whimpered and clung to both the sofa and a handful of his hair as he placed faint kisses on my stomach.

"You have to let go of my hair if you want me to take these pants off." He murmured and nipped a spot near my bellybutton. It took a moment to remember how to use my hand as I released the golden strands from my tight grip. "I like you better like this, for once you do as I tell you, ha." He added and slipped his hand into my pants and squeezed the now much more considerable bulge between my legs. I threw my head back and made an unintelligible sound of pleasure at the contact. It really was a wonder I did not spill my seed at that moment. My breath came in short gasps as Glorfindel purposely took his time fiddling with the fastening.

"Just take them... off. _Valar _please!" I begged, not sure how much longer I would last and yet we had not even really started – how embarrassing. I cried out in relief as my elfhood was at last freed from the unbearably tight confines of the trousers which Glorfindel threw half-way across the office. Had I not just been begging him to take my clothes off, I probably would have scolded him for it. Now fully nude I lay panting before him as he got up and took off his own pants. I swallowed nervously at the size of his elfhood.

"Oil?" He asked pointedly. Shakily I pointed at the desk. _Oil indeed, how is that thing going to fit? _I mused, and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Top drawer. Left side." I whispered, trying to reign in my lust at least long enough to make it last, but my body was just not co-operating. I sighed in frustration at the sound of Glorfindel rifling through the desk and struggled to resist the urge to stroke myself to sate the nearly unbearable need.

"What is this for?" He asked, returning with a small glass container of salve and settling himself on his on the floor beside the sofa.

"Dry skin." I managed to mutter in an in inarticulate way. _Unless you want to walk across the hall and ask Ithilwen for something else. _I wanted to tell him in the most sarcastic tone manageable but I did not trust myself to try and say anything quite so coherent. Though, imaging the look on the herbalist's face nearly made me laugh aloud.

"Good enough." Glorfindel said and put it on the floor beside him. I closed my eyes and sighed with bliss as he fondled my elfhood with great care. How _had _I gone so long without this? Nothing drove me up the wall more than admitting to Glorfindel that he was right about something, but there would be no denying the effects his ministrations were having on me. A strangled cry of surprise escaped me as Glorfindel took my length into his mouth without warning. I gave up trying to control my body at that point and was consumed by the sensation. It was not until I felt Glorfindel's fingers slip inside of me as he prepared me that I even remembered where I was. I disliked that feeling really, which was why I generally preferred to be with females as I was not comfortable being in a dominate position with a male. Gil-Galad had been the only exception, and the only male I had ever bedded. It was also why I told Glorfindel where to find the salve, and not the bottle of rose oil in the bottom drawer. The salve was not actually for dry skin but for applying to small cuts and it had herbs for numbing pain in it. I kept it there as I almost always needed it for whenever Elladan got a bit beaten up while out on patrol. Honestly, I was a little worried it might just be painful. I adjusted to the feeling quickly as he found that special spot deep inside of me, and before long I was begging him to take me. Obviously at the end of his patience, Glorfindel did not need telling twice and thrust himself deep within me in a single fluid motion.

"Relax." He said kindly and took my hand in his as he gave me time to adjust to the feeling of him inside of me. I realized when he spoke that I was not breathing and took several deep, steadying breaths. Slowly, and very cautiously Glorfindel began to move and soon I found myself completely lost in sweet oblivion as each measured thrust threatened to send me off the edge. Losing myself completely, I moved in unison with him as he sped up the pace. As expected, it did not take me long to reach my climax. I cried out in abandon as my whole body convulsed violently and the world shattered around me and swam back into focus sharper than ever. Glorfindel followed a few seconds later with a loud gasp and allowed himself to fall limply on top of me as he spilled his seed within me. For a while we lay there, breathing heavily.

"How did I forget…?" I murmured mostly to myself as my coherence slowly returned and Glorfindel withdrew himself from inside of me. Vaguely I hoped we did not soil the sofa as I would have a difficult time explaining that to the twins who would be sure to notice.

"Forget what?" He asked as he made an attempt at cleaning us with his undershirt.

"What this felt like." I replied. "Even so, this is not happening again, I hope you understand."

"Absolutely. Erestor would murder me." The balrog slayer told me and ruffled my already completely messy hair. "You are going to find someone now, though. Are you not?"

"…Erestor?" I asked, curiously.

"I… Did not say that. And you did not answer my question." He said, and poked me in the ribs.

"Yes. I will. Hopefully someone exists in this valley with an infinite amount of patience for all of my emotional baggage." I answered, swatting his hand away. The thought crossed my mind to tell him to go retrieve my clothes that were thrown all over my office, but I found it too amusing to ruin the mood and picked them up myself. Rather sheepishly, I thanked Glorfindel for his… _assistance. _There was no fixing my hair, I only hoped the twins might be out somewhere and that I could sneak past Erulissë, who so far had preferred to stay in her rooms, without being noticed. Luckily, this was the case and I made it upstairs and collapsed in my bed. Almost as soon as I hit the bed, I fell into the soundest sleep I had in years.


	6. A Conflicting Connection

**Rating (This Chapter):** T

**Pairings (This Chapter):** Elrond/Erulissë (well, the beginnings of it at any rate)

**Warnings (This Chapter):** None

**Notes:** Yay, some plot development, hopefully it's not too boring.

* * *

**Chapter 6: A Conflicting Connection  
**

* * *

I came awake slowly to the sound of someone snoring nearby. _Wait? Snoring? _ I thought, confused as I tried to figure out who would be in my bed and why. Of course, the previous night's memories returned to me in a heated rush. _Valar, what was I thinking? _At least I had not had enough wine to wake up hung-over on top of it all.

"Glorfindel." I said sleepily. "Get out of my bed." But just as the words left my lips, I remembered that I had come home alone. I rolled over and opened my eyes to find myself facing not Glorfindel but an absolute beast of a white wolfhound. He was deeply asleep and his paws twitched slightly as if he were having a dream in which he was chasing squirrels in the gardens like he usually did when he was awake. His nose was nearly touching mine I could feel his hot breath on my face. I scrunched up my nose and backed away a bit as he snored. It was a good thing the bed was so large, really. He was easily as big as me and probably weighed nearly as much as well. There was no way he would fit otherwise – not that he was supposed to be there, of course. I sat up and noticed that the door to the master bedroom was open; I must not have closed it last night.

"You do not belong in here, Nim." I said to the dog and ruffled the fur by his ears to wake him up. The poor thing looked as confused as I was and whimpered as he scrambled off the bed with a crash to avoid getting yelled at before bolting out the door and thundering down the stairs. ...Which was followed by another loud crash and what had to be Erulissë shrieking as she either got trampled or knocked over. I could not help but laugh at his antics, nor apparently could the twins as I could hear both of them in hysterics in the study below. Pets do take after their masters, I suppose, Nim did behave quite a lot like a furry version of Elrohir. But that really was a strange feeling. _When was the last time I laughed? _I thought, as I got out of bed somewhat stiffly. To say I was sore would be an understatement. Those stone chairs in the council room would be absolute torture and Glorfindel would probably sit there and smile at me like an idiot because he would know it was killing me. Yet, I felt oddly happy - as if nothing could go wrong that morning. "Sex _is_ a better distraction than alcohol. I hate it when he his right." I mumbled to myself. Either way, I had to get moving. I needed to speak with Erulissë - preferably before she went to the library for the day. If she could behave herself in a council meeting with Rumil, then she would be able to behave herself working with the healers. Needless to say, I had a few plans for her.

* * *

"You are an absolute monster." I said and made a face when I noticed Elrohir's beast of a dog was drooling on my foot as he watched me eat a blueberry scone. Obviously, he was just waiting for me to drop a bit of it. "I mean, it cannot be _that _bad to wake up in Lord Elrond's bed. Not that I would know, but just saying…" I continued. I had not exactly forgiven him for knocking me over with a tea tray in my hands and then stepping on my head. The twins, however, had found the whole scene rather humorous. I was almost certain I was nursing a concussion. Either way, it was hard to be angry at the big clumsy oaf of a dog. Elrohir had apparently brought him home one day after finding him on the plains as a starving pup. Mostly he slept in the gardens as he liked it best there, but it looked like it might rain last night so Elrohir had let him inside. I wished I had a dog like Nim when I was patrolling the woods in Lorien; he would have made an excellent companion. Well, maybe a little _smarter _than Nim - he was not exactly the sharpest blade in the armory.

"Of course I am nice to sleep with." Elrond said, standing at the bottom of the stairs. I gasped, embarrassed that he heard my comment and dropped my scone. Nim wasted no time scavenging it from the floor and running with it. "And _you_ do not need to get any fatter." He added scowling at Nim who was in the corner by the front door savoring his stolen prize.

"I did not mean – I just…" I stammered, blushing. "Oh, never mind." To my surprise, Elrond just laughed and shook his head. _Valar, he laughed! _I observed mutely. _It must be snowing in Mordor!_ But he did seem to be in a really uncharacteristically good mood this morning. I noticed that he was wearing that damned blue overcoat again that was the same as the one in my dream of him. _I do not think it would be so bad to sleep with him, not at all. _I thought to myself as I watched him walk across the study to let Nim outside. I was not the type to fall in love like some kind of pathetic little girl, but I had to admit that the more time I spent with Elrond, the more of a connection I felt with him. I would not call it a crush; it was simply… easy to be with him. I did not have to pretend to be someone else and aside of telling me to behave more like a lady, Elrond really had not asked anything else of me.

"No matter. I see you brushed your hair this morning." He replied with a mild hint of sarcasm as he shooed Nim out the front door. "_And_ you are on time today."

"I see _you_ are wearing that same coat again." I muttered mutinously as I broke a piece off of a new scone and dipped it in my tea. "But yes, I am not in the mood for being told I do not have half a brain and whatnot."

"What is wrong with this coat?" He asked, obviously confused as he too took one of the scones from the plate on the table and poured himself a cup of tea. _Huh? No comment about minding my business or not making snide remarks?_ I mused. That was definitely out of character.

"Nothing, and therein lies the problem." I replied, giving him a shy smile. "You are in a good mood today. What happened, I wonder? …Unless, someone did sleep with you aside from Nim." It was Elrond's turn to look away awkwardly. I coughed and suddenly became very interested in the wood grain of the table in front of me, my cheeks burning. I _really_ needed to start thinking before I spoke sometimes. But the unexpected thing was the surge of jealousy I felt at imagining him with someone. _It is just because of the dreams. _I told myself, but there was little conviction in the thought. I had not dreamed of him or the twins again. I had also mostly forgotten the dreams entirely as I was preoccupied with the mess in Lorien. _Stop being an idiot. He is married to Celebrian and will be joining her in the undying lands eventually. Even if he was not too old to possibly have any interest in me, I would be coming between him and his wife and that is just wrong. _I chastised myself silently, still staring blankly at the table.

"I know you have the power to sense others' emotions; that I could tell. But like Galadriel, you can see into their hearts as well, I suppose." Elrond said, frowning. He did not seem angry, though. If anything, he seemed curious. "You must never abuse that power. Just because you can see what is in someone's heart does not give you the right to toy with it."

"I would never toy with someone's heart. Even if I could see it." I replied. "That was just a lucky guess. I have no idea how you knew I had that power, even." He looked relieved to hear this, but it could have just been that he really did not want me knowing who he had slept with.

"I suppose there is nothing for it after that reaction, then. So, yes. You had a lucky guess." He said, sheepishly. "I would just ask that you keep that knowledge to yourself. Particularly since starting today, you will be my apprentice." I choked on my tea and gaped at him in shock. I could not even begin to fathom what had made him change his mind. I just stared at him like a startled deer.

"No more library?" I asked weakly, not quite sure if he had been joking with me.

"No more library." Elrond replied, giving me a smile that was both a bit coy and absolutely genuine. While I secretly wanted to sabotage whatever relationship he had, I felt like I could find that person and positively smother them in gratitude for putting Elrond in such a good mood. Motives aside, I still fully intended to find out who it was. "Though, to be fair you will still be spending quite a lot of time there. You have a lot to learn. I have no intention of making this easy for you." And so began my first day as an apprentice healer under the instruction and guidance of Lord Elrond.

It was a lot to take in at first, and mostly all we had even discussed was proper ethics and behavior expected of a healer. "The most difficult thing is knowing when there is really just nothing you can do." Elrond had told me as he handed me a few of the aging leather bound journals from the shelves in his office at the house of healing. Immediately I liked the office. It was spacious and beautifully decorated. The scent of medicinal herbs drifted in from the apothecary across the hall, and it was in general a very peaceful, quiet place. "You must never touch someone who refuses treatment, no matter what the ailment or reasons. I find that I struggle with that the most. There is nothing harder than having in your hands the ability to help someone when they would choose otherwise. Either way, you will not need to be worrying about that just yet. You have a long way to go before you start working with patients. For now, you will just be observing. Do you have any questions so far?" Elrond continued. I listened with rapt attention, not wanting to miss anything. I was determined not to screw this up.

"No, not yet." I answered, following him as went to another shelf clutching the three journals he had given me to my chest as though they were priceless treasures.

"You will once you start reading those. If you do not, it means you did not read them. So I will know if you decide to be lazy." He replied lightheartedly. "Those mostly deal with ethics and manners and how to handle certain situations. You have two weeks to read them, take notes of anything you want to discuss with me – even if you disagree. I actually would like to know your opinions, because not all healers practice their art in the same way. These journals are just my own work and opinions. During the day you will be here with either Glorfindel or I. You will only be observing, so stay out of the way. But make sure to keep a notebook with you to write down any questions you have to discuss later."

"Lord Glorfindel works here, too?" I asked, taking the blank journal he held out for me.

"Yes. Though I am sure he will tell you that he is useless at the arts of healing. Do not listen to him. He might not be the best at making medicines, but he is not at all useless." Elrond told me and took a seat on the sofa near us. "Come, sit here." I obeyed and put the pile of books down on the floor beside me.

"What made you change your mind?" I asked curiously.

"The simple fact that you are not really as immature or irresponsible as everyone has so far seen fit to tell me. Rumil could take a few lessons from you in tact, really. It is not your fault he is incompetent for his job as Marchwarden." Elrond explained rather bluntly. "He is not a bad person, but he lacks the leadership qualities necessary for the job. Glorfindel and I are in agreement that he really just envies you. That being said, I have no idea why Galadriel sent you here. But whatever her reasons, you are on this path now."

"I honestly had not thought of that. But he was never much of a leader. He had the title, but most of the guards took their orders from me because he was usually too busy yelling at me to ever do his own job properly." I said, somewhat angrily. "I am worried about Lorien. I will honor Lady Galadriel's wishes, of course. But the guards lack the organization to handle this. Half of them will be dead by the time they figure out how to kill the beasts let alone clear out the caverns."

"It is a test, I think, to decide who should really be leading them. I know you probably feel it should be you, but your fate lies elsewhere. Though where, I cannot say. I would tell you were it only that I knew." Elrond told me kindly and took my hand in his in a gesture of comfort. For a few moments we sat in silence until someone knocked on the closed office doors. "Yes? Come in." Elrond said, letting go of my hand. It was Glorfindel who entered. He was dressed in an outfit similar to Elrond's with a silver brocade overcoat rather than his armor and his golden hair held back in a long braid. I had to admit, he really was handsome as well in his own way. He smiled and sat on the other side of me.

"What brings you here today, _Pen-neth_?" He asked me and gave Elrond a rather meaningful glance. _What are they hiding? _I wondered as I could swear Elrond looked a touch scandalized for a moment.

"Lord Elrond has decided to take me as an apprentice." I answered in what I hoped was a respectful tone. Elrond nodded in agreement.

"Excellent! We could really use an extra pair of hands around here." Glorfindel said jovially. "I suppose you will be with me some days, then?"

"Of course, though she will just be observing for now." Elrond told him. _That means do not get any ideas! _I could almost hear him add mentally. "Did you need something, is that why you are here rather than out with the guard?" Was what he actually said.

"Actually yes. We have a huge problem concerning the orcs." Glorfindel explained, his smile fading. "I do not have time to summon the council, nor do I think it will do much good other than adding more conjecture and needless talking in circles. So, I decided to just tell you and Erestor about it and perhaps the three of us can decide what needs to be done with as little drama as physically possible."

"If you want something done without drama, I get the distinct feeling I should be worried." Elrond replied. "Please tell me there has not been another attack on Lorien." I looked up hopefully as well, I did _not _want to hear that.

"No,_ Valar_, no. But the orcs are mounting an attack on Rohan. We have no idea why, but they are using the caverns under Lorien to move more of their kin closer to Edoras. One of Rohan's shieldmaidens reported this to the Lorien guards. Rohan is in shambles and they do not have the manpower to defend themselves. But either way, the attack will likely take place during the weeks after midsummer, if the words of an orcish scout that Orophin's men captured and forced to speak are to be believed." Glorfindel told us worriedly.

"There is little choice, we must send whatever aid we can. But not now, it will have to be closer to midsummer or we will lose the advantage we have." Elrond replied.

"Erestor said the same thing. We will work out the plans, then." Glorfindel said. "I hate to run, but I suppose I will see you tomorrow as I need to check up on something with the guardsmen later tonight."

"Just what I needed, more of this nonsense." Elrond said with a heavy sigh. "Why is it that always when evil is vanquished that something even more vile rises to take its place? Surely this is only the beginning of something worse." He complained rather pessimistically. I could not blame him for being paranoid, of course. I knew the history of elven-kind fairly well as I had always admired the heroes of legend as an elfling. I spent countless hours reading texts about the events of the first and second ages in the archives in Caras Galadhon, and I was keen to do the same here in Rivendell when the opportunity presented itself. The truth of the matter really was that in his long years, Elrond had seen more evil and suffering than any one man should ever have to live through – immortal or otherwise. That being said, I could understand his comment wholly.

"Is it not also true that evil shall never prevail so long as there those who will stand to fight against it?" I said quietly. Surprisingly, he smiled almost ruefully.

"Of course." He told me. "But not without much needless loss of life and no small amount of strife." We sat in silence for a while. Again, I sensed his distress as I had at the council meeting before and wanted to comfort him in some way. But this time there was no one watching.

"I think there will be much happiness in your future, in spite of all this." I said, cryptically, thinking of the dreams. Whether the dreams had really just been the product of over-stressed mind, I was not sure. But even if only for his sake, I wanted there to be some nugget of truth in them. Such a kind soul did not deserve so much loneliness and loss. "After all, Lady Celebrian is waiting for you in the undying lands, right?" He gave me an odd, almost questioning look. _Great, now what stupid thing did I say?_ I thought as our eyes met, and I could see only sadness with the smallest spark of hope in his grey eyes.

"There is nothing for me in the undying lands. Middle Earth is my home, and I have no intention of ever leaving." Elrond replied shortly and got up from the sofa. I was not quite sure what to say so I held my silence as he dug through one of his desk drawers in search of something. Yet my traitorous and apparently rather selfish subconscious was somewhat gleeful to hear this. If he did not want to return to Celebrian, then I would not be coming between them if I... _No. It is wrong. _I told myself, in an attempt to think logically. _I want this because I am attracted to him, not because I can actually do anything to help him. I am not what he needs; he deserves better. _"Tell me about the dream you had." Elrond said suddenly from where he was sitting at his desk. I looked at him, wide-eyed. _Does he have the same ability as Galadriel to know what others are thinking? _I thought, looking at him curiously. _No, I do not think so. _I reasoned, or he probably would have commented something by now after all the lewd thoughts I had about him. "The dream you had when we first reached Rivendell after Leaving Caras Galadhon. When you woke, you could not get far enough away from me and you kept saying my name in your sleep. And the way you touched me, as if to see if I were actually there..." He continued. I looked at the floor, shamefaced.

"I touched you because in the dream I reached out to touch you, but my hand had gone straight through you as if you as though you were an apparition of some sort. It thoroughly spooked me, and being a bit disoriented after I woke up I... wanted to make sure you were really there." I answered sheepishly, and purposely left out the details about apparently being betrothed to him as I gave him a more descriptive account of the dream. "That's why I dislike that coat." I added, giving him a wry glance. Though that was far from the truth. I really _liked _that coat – a lot.

"Were there any other dreams?" He asked. "More pointedly – dreams about a pair of twins?" I shook my head, perhaps a bit more fervently than I should have. He eyed me doubtfully, but made no further comments about the dream. _It is for the better. _I told myself as he regarded me curiously. I breathed a sigh of relief when he got up and told me to go off and start reading the journals, as he apparently decided to drop the subject. But this was an odd development. I now knew that Elrond had seen the twins, and possibly me as well. There was also a good chance that Elladan had too due to his comment the other morning about going to the gardens at midnight. Or maybe Elrond had simply discussed it with him. I did not know. I was angry with myself for lying to him because I had given up fighting it and honestly the thought of being with him filled me with the oddest giddy feeling. _No, stop this, he deserves better. _I reminded myself as I grabbed the journals and nearly ran out of the office before I could change my mind.

* * *

Erulissë's behavior had been odd at best when I asked her about the dream she had, and even more so when I asked about the twins. She could not get out of the office fast enough, and that was absolutely obvious. There was nothing for it, I was going to have to discuss it with her, but I would have to come up with a way to make her feel comfortable enough to be honest about it. Though, it was interesting. She had seen me specifically, I had only seen the twins and a blonde-haired elven woman with her back to me. That could have been anyone, but Erulissë's reaction told me otherwise. No, it was her, it had to be. I knew for a fact that she had a dress just like the one in the vision, as I had seen it in the pile of clothes the twins gave her. I had told them to go through Arwen's things and give Erulissë anything that would fit her. I had been trying not to think of that - trying to find some other excuse. _There is nothing I find attractive about her. _I tried to tell myself. It was a lie. Erulissë was easily as beautiful as Galadriel, if not more so when she took time to look nice instead of rolling out of bed and throwing clothes on. I had made an effort not to dwell on her appearance as I had more than once been absolutely enraptured by her. Her personality was alluring to me as well. She was not very feminine, and could hold her own in a fight, that was for sure. She had even given Glorfindel a run for his money when they had sparred the other day. Though, it was her skill with a bow that was amazing. I doubted any of Rivendell's guardsmen could best her. In short, she was exciting and I could only imagine her being an incredibly interesting lover, considering her dominant personality. Celebrian had been rather timid and mostly had little to no interest in sex. I was sure that if anything Erulissë would be the exact opposite. _Yet, it would never work. She is too young and far too innocent for someone like me. _I thought, looking balefully out the office window where I could see the _elleth _in question slowly making her way back home. _She deserves someone who will bring her happiness, not someone who is full of despair. _

My previously good mood all but lost, I left the office and went into the apothecary. If spending a few hours mixing herbs to make salves and whatnot could not take my mind off of Erulissë, nothing would. The apothecary was probably my second favorite place in Rivendell - aside from my office. It was a large room full of may shelves haphazardly stacked with jars of dried herbs and disorderly work areas to prepare them for use. The scent of comfrey and chamomile always hung heavy in the air, mingled with the fragrance of whatever other herbs were strung up to dry from the rafters above. I often lost hours there experimenting with different medicines. I could often find our herbalist, Ithilwen there. We worked well together, usually. But today it was empty but me for me and the herbs. ...It also did not go as planned. Rather than taking my mind off it all, I just thought instead of how best to instruct Erulissë in the art of making medicines and wondering if she would have the aptitude for it or not. Thoroughly frustrated in more ways than one, I left and went home.

Erulissë was not there, however her books were. She left them spread out on the table in the study, and apparently she had already gotten through most of the first one and made a list of things she had wanted to ask me about. Her notes were meticulous to a fault. It was no wonder Erestor was so hard on her for being late – he would have had a difficult time finding much else to take issue with. Deciding I did not really want to deal with whatever it was I seemed to be feeling for her, I went upstairs and sat on the balcony. _I really need to prune the ivy back a bit, it is starting to take over everything. _I thought, observing the ivy that had then completely covered the railing and most of the wall aside from the doors. The leaves were beginning to turn brown due to the drought, so I decided to let it be for the time being. _Hopefully it rains soon. _I mused, looking out over the valley at the trees that were also starting to sport their autumn colors. Trying to clear my thoughts, I leaned back into my wooden chair and closed my eyes. Maybe an afternoon nap would do me well. But no sooner had that thought crossed my mind, that I heard a voice behind me.

"Oh, there you are. I was wondering where you had gone off to." I turned and looked over my shoulder to see Erulissë standing in the doorway. Something was strange, though. I had not heard the door open and she was wearing a flowing navy blue dress that rather uncannily matched my coat. She had been wearing a pale golden brocade shirt and a pair of tan trousers earlier. _Not again... _I thought miserably as I wordlessly watched the apparition of Erulissë stroll to the edge of the balcony and rest her hands on the ivy covered railing. "It is nice to have some peace and quiet without elflings nipping at my heels. I hope the girls do not give Arwen too much trouble."

"Arwen?" I asked, and sat bolt upright in surprise. _Surely it is someone else... Not my Arwen. _I thought, eyes wide. I never got answer, though. Of course she did not answer, she was just a vision after all.

"_Melin le_. (I love you)" Erulissë said and faded into the afternoon sunlight as she walked toward me. I stared at the spot where she had vanished feeling completely and utterly lost.


	7. Revelation

**Rating (This Chapter):** M (just to be safe?)

**Pairings (This Chapter):** Elrond/Erulissë

**Warnings (This Chapter):** Gore, not too intense.

**Notes:** Sorry for the delay in updating, I had to sort some things out with the plot in this chapter. The next should be up real soon since it was originally all one and I decided it was too long and some things were happening too fast so I broke it up and made some parts longer. Enjoy and please review! Thanks for reading so far.

* * *

**Chapter 7: Revelation**

* * *

In the weeks following Elrond's decision to take me as an apprentice, my daily schedule quickly fell into a routine. I was not expected to be at the house of healing at the crack of dawn like when I had been working at the library. So I took full liberty of sleeping "half the day away", according to Elrond. Usually we would have breakfast together, sometimes with the twins if they were not out patrolling the plains with the guardsmen. We would often discuss the previous day's events or whatever my opinions were on the texts that I had been assigned to read over a cup of tea. The twins always had exciting tales to tell about some near-death experience or other when they came back from patrol, though I think it was mostly made up to annoy Elrond. I would have probably done the same if it were me as he was always a bit overly protective of them. But then, they were the only family he had left. Whatever the case, I soon felt not only that I had a place in Elrond's home, but in his family as well. Somehow it felt like I had been there all along. ...Even if he had not mentioned the visions again and did for all intents and purposes seem to be avoiding the subject like the plague. I took no issue with this, of course. However, it was getting increasingly difficult to keep telling myself that I felt nothing for him. The twins had noticed as well, Elladan going as far to say that the tension between us was ridiculous. Elrond did not speak to him for three days, and he and Elrohir took up referring to me as their _nana _(mom) to irritate both of us.

After breakfast we would go to the council hall and check on anything that needed to be done there before heading to house of healing. I mostly spent my time watching Elrond and Glorfindel work, quickly writing down notes on things that interested me. They would sometimes send me on errands, or have me fill out paperwork and whatnot. If there was nothing going on, Elrond would leave me with the herbalist, Ithilwen, in the apothecary to learn the basic uses for medicinal herbs. I took particular interest in this, and Ithilwen was more than glad to have a helper, which meant she taught me all sorts of things about blending herbs and how to prepare them to be used. She was an odd elf, really. While our kin are usually graceful and fair, she was horribly clumsy but in an endearing way. Rather than being tall and slender like most elves, she was short and a bit plump. Ithilwen also had a somewhat crude sense of humor and most of the time spent working with her had no small amount of laughter involved. It was absolutely impossible for me to imagine anyone not liking her. ...And even more impossible to fathom how we actually did manage to get our jobs done when we spent so much time making completely inappropriate jokes about who had a face like an orc's arse and such.

Working with Elrond was completely different from working with Ithilwen. Rather than directly telling me how something was done, he would just have me watch and try to figure it out for myself. Only after that would he give me a direct explanation. Apparently his philosophy was that if I had to think about something and analyze it myself I was more likely to remember the process behind it. In that sense, I was actually learning something rather just memorizing some text out of a book which anyone who was not one of the greatest master healers in Middle Earth could have taught me. At times this aggravated me beyond reason, but I grew used to his way of teaching and embraced it. Watching Elrond work could be distracting, though. While I should have been focusing on taking notes, I often found myself with a blank page or some inarticulate doodles as I daydreamed about him speaking to me so softly like he did with his patients, or touching me with such care. My heart it seemed had little regard for my mentally enforced logic of why I could not have him. Explaining the doodles when he checked over the day's notes was often rather awkward, but the reproachful glare he would give me mostly just made me smile like an idiot because it suited him so well. I wondered then, if I unconsciously started doodling in my notes just to get that reaction from Elrond.

Glorfindel was fun to be with. His general good humor and charisma made him both easy to get along with and he held me attention with little effort. Just as Elrond had said, Glorfindel was far from being rubbish at the healing arts. He could be annoying, however, as he seemed to be aware of mine and Elrond's situation and often slipped a comment or two that we should "get on with it, already". I generally met this with a stony silence, aside from one time I told him that he was girlish enough maybe _he_ should sleep with Elrond. ...Which was how I inadvertently found out that Glorfindel _had _bedded Elrond that one night that I had all but forgotten about. He had been so taken aback by my comment that more or less admitted to it. If nothing else, I was glad I did not have a relationship to sabotage as he swore vehemently that it would not be happening again. ...Nor did he make any more comments about mine and Elrond's relationship – or lack thereof ever again. It was nice to know that I had some dirt if I ever needed to blackmail Glorfindel – even if I had to admit that the two of them together was by no means a bad image.

Around dusk Elrond and I would leave to have dinner at home and discuss whatever questions I might have, and what I had learned that day in depth. The twins were almost never home for dinner, so it was usually just the two of us. I liked it better that way. Something about that whole dinner routine was sacred and anyone else being there would be an unwelcome intrusion. We would often get into intense verbal debates over personal philosophies and ethics which usually ended in a general agreement that both of us were right in our own ways. That was to be expected of course – elven scholars always had a way of answering both "yes" and "no" to just about everything. But there was never anything heated or overly passionate about these little debates. It was just our own unique way of having a conversation and I delighted in the fact that no one else would likely understand it. It was on one such evening, two days before midsummer that the topic of the visions of the twins finally decided to rear its ugly head once more.

It had been a long and relatively tiring day. A few of the border guards had gotten on the wrong side of an orc pack with a bunch of wargs. The wargs had been an unanticipated and nasty surprise. They were not the beasts from Lorien at least, just regular wargs. Luckily none of their injuries were fatal, but that was not to say it was a nice sight. In fact, it was the first time I had been allowed to lay a hand on anyone as it was only the two of us there at the time. I followed Elrond's instructions to the letter and helped him by cleaning and dressing most of the smaller wounds. We worked together efficiently and had the situation under control quickly. It was afterward, well past our usual dinner time that the dreaded conversation came up as we sat in his office organizing a mess of paperwork that had to do with the plans for the orc problem in Rohan.

"Erulissë, we need to talk." Elrond said finally, setting the papers aside and slipping the loose green satin over robe he was wearing off his shoulders so that it draped over the back of his chair. He was wearing a pair of ornate golden filigree reading glasses and looked more tired than I had ever seen him before. I had a bad feeling about whatever this was. Sighing quietly, I turned from the window where I had been boredly watching the last remnants of the sunset and went to sit in the chair in front of the desk as I prepared for the worst. "You are going to Rohan. Three days from now." _Well, I was not expecting that. At least I will still be here for the midsummer festival. _I thought, more than a little surprised.

"I...am?" I asked. "What would you have me do there?"

"The orc army is large and obviously well organized. It is not you specifically I need to send there, but we need anyone who is able and willing to fight. You at least are a force to be reckoned with. Can I count you amongst the aid we will be sending to this battle?" He inquired. He looked worried, though. I do not believe he wanted to send me anywhere near Rohan, but felt he had no choice.

"Very well. I have never fought on a battlefield, but as you say – I am a worthy opponent to most. ...Even if I prefer fixing things to harming them." I answered. I did not want to go, really. But if there was anything I could do to help with the whole mess, then so be it. Having even my novice skills as a healer would be useful there as well. I was also probably better at scouting and reconnaissance than Rivendell's guards.

"Good. Though, there is something else." He said, somewhat hesitantly this time. "And please, just be honest with me about this." _Oh great, here we go. _I complained to myself. I should not have been surprised really. We both knew this was coming – midsummer was in two days and we had both been unconsciously avoiding the other at all costs.

"Yes? What is it?" I asked, hoping I sounded oblivious even though I was absolutely positive of where this conversation was heading.

"I want you to tell me about the dreams you had – without embellishment or lack of certain...details." He told me. His voice was calm, but his eyes which met mine for fraction of a second, contradicted his demeanor entirely. I swore under my breath and decided I should just come clean about it all, maybe if he knew what was really going on my head he could help me sort it out._ And remind me why it will not work, no matter how much I want it to. _But why could it not work? What were the reasons? As I tried to pull them to mind, I came up with nothing. He and Celebrian had gone their separate ways. Age was meaningless to immortal beings. We got along well on a mental level, and were incredibly compatible as teacher and student. _ I am out of reasons, Valar guide me. _I thought to myself as I slowly began recounting every detail of the dreams. I told him of the twins, of how it appeared to be autumn even thought it was midsummer, and of how we seemed to be betrothed in the dream where I had seen him wearing that blue overcoat that I both loved and hated so very much. Once I was done, I fell silent and looked at the floor. I was afraid to meet his eyes – afraid to be rejected, mostly.

"This whole situation is... interesting to say the least." Elrond said finally breaking the rather stifling silence. "I have had these visions as well, but they appeared to me as apparitions while I was awake rather than in dreams. It makes little difference, though. They were different from yours, but only slightly. That which is important is still the same – the message to be in the gardens at midnight on midsummer and that the twins are apparently our children." These words were spoken thoughtfully and with some amount of curiosity. It did not sound like the idea repulsed him in the slightest. I took a deep breath and asked the question that had been eating my subconscious for far too long.

"How do you feel about all that, exactly?" I inquired, nervously. Honestly, I was afraid to hear his answer. I knew that being rejected by him would be horribly depressing. On the opposite hand, I was a virgin and utterly useless at romance. I would be an atrociously disappointing and inadequate lover, of that I was sure. My total lack of confidence in my body was likely not to help, either. I was not some soft pretty little thing that all the _ellyn _(males elves) fought over – I was a little rough around the edges. I was a warrior of the Galadhrim and I had more than enough scars to show for it. No matter what Elrond's answer, it would be walking into unexplored territory.

"Lost, mostly." He answered. "Also, a bit...hopeful if I am to be completely honest. How about you? What do you think of this? Be honest, I doubt any good could come of lying to me at this point. ...Not that you have ever lied to me as of yet."

"I am not sure I want to deal with elflings scampering around just yet, or at all for that matter. But I _do_ know the effect you have on me and it has been driving me up a wall lately." I answered, choosing the words carefully and feeling my face flush as I spoke. _There, I said it. Kind of. _I told myself as if I thought it would somehow ease the inner conflict.

"My thoughts are mostly the same in that regard." He answered after a time. "But please understand that this is not so easy for me. Perhaps when you come back from Rohan we can discuss -"

"No." I said, cutting him off. "Not then. Meet me in the gardens in two days at midnight, or not at all." It felt horribly rude to interrupt him and say something so harsh, but some kind of nagging voice in my head told me that if not on midsummer, then never. If my reaction had offended him, he made no comment.

"Very well." Elrond replied in a subdued manner. "Either way, I am glad we had this conversation. It eases my mind somewhat to know you are not so opposed to the idea of... well..." He coughed and looked away. I answered this only with a coy smile, while on the inside I was even more nervous than before, if at all possible. Those two days, though, came and went much faster than I would have expected... They were not, however, uneventful by any means.

* * *

I was glad that I had finally managed to get Erulissë to talk about her visions, but I was now more conflicted than ever. _When did it all fall apart? _I thought to myself. _How did she find her way into my heart so easily? _I did not think for a moment that my attraction to Erulissë had anything to do with the visions. I had lived too long and seen more than enough to know better than to mistake reality for a vague prophecy. Though, the most recent vision had shaken me to the core. "___Melin le__." _The words that she had spoken so softly and honestly echoed in my mind.

"Do you really love me?" I asked the silence of my office, the only answer I received was from a small finch perched on the open windowsill behind me. The little golden bird twittered reproachfully at me and fluttered away. I was not so sure I was ready for the answer to that question, though. In a way, I wanted to hear her really speak those words and mean them more than anything. But, at the same time I wanted to keep her at a distance. Twice now I had given myself, heart and soul to another; and both of them were taken from me by forces far beyond my control. The truth of the matter, was that I was so afraid of losing Erulissë that I could not allow myself to fall for her. _It is too late for that, though. _I told myself, knowing that as much as I would like to deny it I had fallen for her long before I even mentioned her dreams. Would I meet her in the gardens tomorrow or would I deny myself what I knew I wanted so badly? "I have work to do." I told myself aloud and stood up. With a little more violence that strictly necessary, I grabbed my coat that I had previously tossed on top of a pile of books beside me. It snagged on one of the books and most of them toppled over onto the floor in a heap. I glanced at them somewhat guiltily and threw the coat on roughly.

"You do indeed have work to do, and mind those books. Erestor nearly killed me where I stood when I knocked one book off a table the other day." Elrohir said, standing in the doorway.

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked, somewhat embarrassed. "And how much of that blood is yours?" I added, noticing that he was still in armor as he had likely just gotten back from patrolling the plains with the guards. Said armor was nearly covered in half-dried blood. He also had a sizable gash across his face and more blood caked in his hair.

"Some of it." He replied. "But I will just say that Lorien's beasts are no laughing matter. I cannot imagine how Erulissë killed one of those damned things. Lucky for us it was early dawn, I suppose. ...Which was not the case for the merchant caravan that they attacked with an orc pack during the night. All dead but for a child, and he is not a pretty sight. It looks like they had mercenaries guarding them too."

"Wait... These warg beasts from Lorien are here now?" I asked, horrified.

"Yes. The orcs either tamed them or are breeding them, at least that was what Glorfindel thought. That is not important right now, though. We have several injured guards that need a healer, and the merchant child. Luckily none of them were killed. It was a nightmare fighting those things. There were three of them." Elrohir replied. About a thousand questions swam through my mind as I followed Elrohir out of the office, straightening my coat as I went. _Why were they here? How did they get across the pass – did that mean that Rumil and the Galadhrim had not been able to secure the caves? What kind of beast could so easily badly wound Rivendell's best warriors? _I though to myself as I gathered a few things I would need from my office.

"Go to the apothecary and get Erulissë. I will need her help as there is no one else is here right now." I told Elrohir as he led me to where he'd left six injured guards, Elladan and Glorfindel holding a bloody mess of linens that had to be the child they had found in the wreckage of the merchant caravan. He nodded and left, I noticed he was limping slightly and felt a pang of worry for just how much of the blood was actually his. _If not all of it. _I thought to myself. Elladan did not look much better, which I knew would be a royal pain in the arse. I would be leaving him for last so no one else would have to see the scene he would probably cause.

"Here, I can help. Just take care of this one. I will probably end up killing the poor thing, he is the worst off by far." Glorfindel said and held out the unconscious child for me to take. He was small, no more than three years old at the most with dark chocolate brown hair. I pushed up my sleeves and took the child from him without question. Glorfindel had a good amount of blood on him too and his left pauldron was broken beyond repair.

"Are you sure you are all right?" I asked.

"For now." Glorfindel replied. "I can give Erulissë instructions while you see to the child." I made no further comment and took the child into a private room. Glorfindel had not been kidding, the poor thing was a mess. It would be a miracle if he survived the day, even with my skill. Both of his legs were broken and there was a very deep and possibly fatal puncture wound in his back. The little one was very lucky nothing vital had been damaged, but he had lost a lot of blood. It was while examining a small cut on his face that I noticed that he was not, in fact, belonging to the race of men. Rather, he was an elf as his tiny ears were indeed pointed. I wondered momentarily how an elfling came to be traveling with a trader's caravan assumedly from bree.

"You must have a strong spirit to still be here, _pen-neth _(little one). Hold on for a little longer and I will fix you." I told the child even though I knew full well that he could not hear me. Setting the broken bones was tedious work, but I was relieved to see that it was not so bad as it had looked at first glance. It was the wound in his back that had obviously been from one of the orcs' none too sharp blades that worried me. I had stopped the bleeding and cleaned it thoroughly, but only time would tell if it would heal or not. Of course, I had some natural magical talent for healing wounds – but something like this needed to heal on its own or else it might actually make it worse. Once I was satisfied that there really was nothing else I could do for the time being, I left the child to rest and joined Glorfindel and the others back in the main room. Glorfindel was there by himself cleaning the gash on Elrohir's head. Erulissë was nowhere in sight, nor for that matter was Elladan or the rest of the guards.

"Where is Erulissë?" I asked, taking over for Glorfindel who looked completely exhausted. _Please tell me she is not working unsupervised somewhere. _I added mentally.

"Sitting in your office with Elladan in case he wakes up. He was the worst of the bunch other than the little one so I sedated him and cleaned him up first. You will have to finish the job, though." The balrog slayer explained. "She is pretty useful though. Elrohir and I managed to take care of most of the mess with her help."

"Yes, I reckon she will be an excellent healer when you are done with her, _ada._" Elrohir said. I made no comment as I carefully examined a deep cut in the back of his head.

"These beasts..." I said finally. "How did you kill them?"

"They were still at the place where they attacked the caravan near dawn. Elladan was smart enough to remember what Erulissë said about them being weaker in the sunlight, so we lured them back out in the open once the sun started rising and attacked them. In hindsight, it was a bad idea. We also should have listened to her suggestion to use archers." Glorfindel explained. "They are fast and they hit hard. It is a good thing we are still here. There was... nothing left to bury of the merchants they attacked. Just some... pieces of them." I cringed as I imagined the scene.

"Right. The child must have crawled back into the wagon and they couldn't fit in there to get at him, I think." Elrohir said. "They are huge, easily the size of a horse but bulkier. They are also very smart – probably smarter than the orcs that were using them, honestly." I sighed miserably. Would these things be in Rohan as well? Was I sending Erulissë and the better part of the guardsmen to their deaths? I tried not to think about this as I dressed Elrohir's wounds. I could not bear for her to come to harm because of an order from me.

* * *

I was furious that Glorfindel had sent me away to watch over Elladan. How could he get into any trouble anyway? He was deeply unconscious and probably on enough medicines to have no idea where he even was if he did wake up. Though, I had no idea why we put him in Elrond's office instead of a room with a bed at least. The only thing I could think of was that maybe he felt safer there – which would make all the difference considering he had been absolutely impossible to deal with. Elladan had made an unbelievable fuss. He would not let Glorfindel examine his wounds, so in the end he and Elrohir held him down while I forced a sedative potion down his throat. Glorfindel had cleaned his wounds, but not really treated them since he figure he should let Elrond do it. Now he was sound asleep on the large sofa in Elrond's office propped up on a pile of pillows. I had to admit, seeing Elladan like that was unnerving. Both twins were skilled swordsmen, and I had grown to respect their prowess with a blade as much as Elrond's talent with the healing arts. Right now though, the younger twin did not look like a warrior but more like a broken doll. I leaned against the edge of the desk and looked through a small crack in the drawn curtains over the window. It was late afternoon now.

"Clearly, I am only to be trusted with the most important of tasks." I muttered mutinously. I really had no right to be angry, though. I was not by any means an experienced healer. I would just rather have been watching Glorfindel work; at least then I might learn something. Instead, I was here watching one of Elrond's sons sleep. Elladan and Elrohir really did resemble their father. They had nearly the same facial features and the same dark hair. The only difference really was in their body type. Where Elrond was built a bit more like a warrior, the twins were slender and lithe with a certain grace that their father did not possess in the slightest. I could easily see them being Lady Galadriel's grandchildren. Those traits, they must have inherited from their mother.

"I am so confused." I said to the silent room. And began pacing the length of the office aimlessly. "I should have asked you about the vision. It seemed like you knew something. This is driving me up a wall and I have no idea what to do... But _Valar _I want him." I complained with a glance to the unconscious elf. Dejectedly, I flopped down onto the sofa beside him. His eyelids fluttered slightly but he did not stir. This silence and being away from everyone was like some kind of solitary confinement. I felt like a caged animal in a menagerie. I hid my face in my hands and tried to calm myself.

"_Naneth? _(mother)" Elladan said quietly, a little above a whisper. _He must not be feeling too bad if he is going to start that nonsense now. _I thought to myself, and looked down at him. His eyes were still closed.

"No. I am not your _nana; _I am Erulissë." I replied, a little more irritably than necessary. "Please do not call me that."

"Where is she? Where is _Naneth_? And Elrohir? Where is my brother!" He asked, panic in his voice a he tried to sit up. He could not move though, whatever Glorfindel had given him obviously prevented it as he did not have the strength to do much of anything at all. I felt bad for him really, that had to be scarier than just sucking it up and letting the healers fix him.

"She is... home." I said, uncertainly. I was not entirely a lie - Valinor was Celebrian's home now after all. "Shh, calm down. You are going to be fine. Elrohir is safe too." I told him and very gently held his hand to try and get him to relax. It would not do him any good to have a panic attack in this state. _He should not have woken up for a few more hours, though. _I observed worriedly.

"Where is _Ada _(dad)?" He asked next, his voice was a little less frantic, at least.

"Helping the others that were injured. I am sure he will be here soon." I explained. "I will go get him for you. Stay there, do not try to move."

"No! Please do not leave me here alone!" Elladan begged and tried to hang onto my hand but whatever Glorfindel had given him did not allow him the coordination. I felt absolutely terrible seeing him like this. I sat back down beside him and very gently ran my fingers through his hair to try and calm him. _His hair is soft... I wonder if Elrond's is too._ I mused, and immediately wondered what in creation was wrong with me that I was even thinking about what Elrond's hair felt like at a time like this.

"It is all right. I am here. I will stay with you." I told Elladan softly and took his hand in mine again. "Take a few deep breaths, try to relax. Everything is going to be fine." My patience surprised me. Normally whenever any of the male guards was being a wuss about something I would make fun of them. Now though, it seemed horrible to even consider something like that. And if I had not known that Elladan had a few badly broken ribs, I would have pulled him up into my arms and held him like a child. Instead I had to settle for holding his hand speaking to him kindly. When Elrond finally got there, Elladan was mostly calm and had nearly fallen asleep again.

"He is awake?" Elrond asked, surprised as he walked into the office and shut the door behind him. He was carrying a small box full of bandages, salves and some tools he would need to treat Elladan's injuries which he sat on the desk for a moment while he took off his coat and rolled up the sleeves of his undershirt.

"He woke up a little while ago. I was going to go get you, but he was afraid to be alone." I replied and got up from the sofa, I tried to detach myself from Elladan, but he clung to me weakly. Some of his strength was coming back, it seemed. "Shh, stop that. I am not going anywhere; I promise." I told him reassuringly and carefully pulled away from him. He made a quiet sound of disapproval but did not fight it. Elrond watched this with an oddly curious expression.

"No matter. Please stay here, you are the only person other than his sister that has ever been able to keep him calm in such a state." Elrond said and took my place beside him. "Do not worry, _ion nín_ (my son), you will not feel anything I do." Elrond added very softly to Elladan and stroked his hair lightly as I had done. He made no reply but closed his eyes tightly. Mostly I just watched Elrond work in an almost enraptured silence. He was always very gentle and cautious, but even more so with Elladan. He had to be, of course. The poor sod was a total emotional wreck. Yet again, I wished he would speak to me like that. I had to hold Elladan's hand again and keep him distracted while Elrond set the bones in his leg which was broken pretty badly. _If they were going to rohan with me, I guess they probably are not now. _I thought vaguely to myself of the twins. Elrohir had been a mess too, but nearly as much so as his brother.

Once Elrond was done putting Elladan to rights, we sat with him for a while until he fell asleep before we left for dinner. Glorfindel would look after him – apparently he was not quite as badly injured as it had looked. I hoped not. If neither Glorfindel or the twins went to Rohan I had a nasty suspicion that leading the men would fall to me. That was not a responsibility I particularly desired. Elrond had been rather quiet that night; he was obviously worried about Elladan and returned to him after we had dinner. I went home by myself, stopping by the gardens to find Nim. It looked like it was going to rain, and the twins would not be coming home so I figured someone should find him. Otherwise the poor beast would probably have to sleep under a bench in the garden.

"What do you make of all this, eh?" I asked the gargantuan wolfhound as he followed me home. "Those foul things here... What is becoming of the world now?" Nim whimpered in response. I wonder if he knew the state his owners were in somehow as he seemed rather sulky instead of his usual hyper self. Whatever the case, he curled up quietly on the rug in front of the empty fireplace in the study and went to sleep while I had a cup of tea and waited a while for Elrond to come home. Once it was well past midnight I gave up and went to bed. I did not sleep well, though. Tomorrow would be midsummer. Who knew what would happen.


	8. The Nightingale's Song

**Rating (This Chapter):** M

**Pairings (This Chapter):** Elrond/Erulissë

**Warnings (This Chapter):** Graphic sex

**Notes:** So, who's excited for this chapter? :3 I know, I just tortured you all taking so long to update this when I actually had it mostly done when I posted the previous chapter, haha. Hopefully you can forgive me; there were a few things I was not quite happy with.

Anyhow, I also went through the older chapters and fixed a bunch of typos and crap. Though I'm probably still missing some. *dies* I also hope this chapter isn't a mess. It's late and I don't want to wait another day to put it up.

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Nightingale's Song**

* * *

It was finally midsummer. All around Rivendell preparations were being made for the festival that would take place later that night. It was a bright, sunny day with not a cloud in the sky, even if rain in any form would have been a welcome thing, indeed. It had looked like it would storm last night, but there had only been thunder and lightning with no rain. Midsummer it may have been, but it looked more like early autumn as most of the trees had donned their fall foliage due to lack of water and the cobblestone walkways were littered with fallen leaves. _Just like in my dreams, it is not autumn after all._ I mused, poking at a large reddish oak leaf with my foot. It had been four months now since I left Caras Galadhon, but it felt like years. And I knew the three or so months I would be away fighting in Rohan would feel even longer. Without realizing it, I had since decided that I had no desire to return to return to Lorien once my two hundred years of exile were over. No, Rivendell was my home now, and Elrond and the twins had very much become my family. _Will you be waiting for me at midnight, Elrond?_ I thought, smiling to myself. I knew he would. He knew it as well, even if he would not admit to it – I was absolutely sure it would all work out somehow.

"What is on your mind?" The elf in question asked as we walked along on our way to the house of healing. We had a bit of work to catch up on there before joining the festivities as the unfortunate result of the guards' run-in with the warg-beasts the night before. Elrond had spent nearly the entire night looking after the elfling the guardsmen had found; the little thing seemed to still be alive at least. I hoped he would recover even if just for Elrond's sake. The lord of Imladris, it seemed had a weakness for children and particularly could not stand to see them come to harm.

"I am excited for tonight." I said, giving him a knowing glance and taking ahold of his hand. _When did it become so easy to be with him? When did I fall so hard for him? How did it happen so fast?_ I did not know, really. But I did know that I was finally where I belonged – even if I was more honestly terrified than I would ever admit. I wondered if he knew how nervous I was, as even without the power to sense others' emotions he still had an uncanny way of knowing what they were thinking. He squeezed my hand gently and gave me one of his rare genuine smiles.

"I am sure the festival will be lovely as always." Elrond replied, avoiding the point.

"You know what I was referring to." I told him endearingly.

"We shall see." He said and let go of my hand. I did not try to hang on or to pursue the subject. I knew he was a mess of conflicted emotions, even if he was a good deal calmer and less depressed in general since we had talked about the visions. He was evasive at best on the subject, but I could tell it was apprehension more than anything. If I had to guess, I would say Elrond had a fear of letting anyone get too close as a result of losing so many loved ones. ...Not that it helped that I would be departing in the morning for Rohan with Glorfindel to drive the orcish hordes out of Edoras and defend Helm's Deep. He was afraid something would happen to me – that he would lose me. I would not that let that happen.

Most of the day passed uneventfully. Elrond took care of paperwork after he saw to some of the guardsmen and Elladan who were still under his care. I spent most of the time making salves and tinctures to replenish some of the stock that was running low. Unfortunately Ithilwen was away so it was far too quiet. I did not mind though, as I particularly liked making medicines. It was tedious work that required a lot of focus and attention to detail, but something about it was very satisfying. Ithilwen had even told me on several occasions that I really had a knack for it. Of course neither of the two of us had anything on Elrond's skill, but the work was always meaningful and kept me too occupied to get myself into any trouble. Elrond came to see me in the apothecary before he left around noon. He gave me instructions for a list of herbs that needed to be picked from the gardens and hung to dry before I left for the day. He also ever so cryptically hinted that he would see me tonight and ruffled my hair in an affectionate way as he left. I noticed then that he was wearing that stupid blue coat and I was positive he had done so on purpose. I stood there smiling like a giddy elfling for a bit. I knew Elrond was a nervous wreck, even if he was doing an admirable job of hiding it. _He will be there. _ I told myself. _I know he will_. It was funny, really - how at first I had been utterly repulsed by the idea of being romantically involved with Elrond, yet as time went by our relationship (if you could even call it that) had transformed into a comfortable and easy friendship. Now, I wanted nothing more than to have a place in his heart, as he certainly held mine in the palm of his hand – whether he knew it or not.

I did as he asked, taking far longer than necessary to gather the herbs. The comfrey grew near the small pond that was deep in the heart of the gardens, the same place where I would be meeting Elrond at midnight. I had been to this place a few times to gather herbs for the healers, and each time I grew fonder of it. It was a peaceful place, full of life and vibrant color. Birds twittered merrily from their perches high above and once I had nearly been trampled by Nim as he chased a squirrel up a tree. In fact, whenever the beastly wolfhound was missing, he could almost always be found here napping under the large willow that hung over the side of the pond. I sat for a while on the small wooden bench under the same willow and watched dragonflies skimming lazily across the pond's surface. Unconsciously, I imagined Elrond sitting beside me and I could not help but smile. I decided then it was high time I finished my job for the day and got home to make a half-way decent attempt dressing up and doing something with my hair. I ended up picking out a gorgeous green velvet gown with silver embroidery on the sleeves and collar. Somehow, I could swear I had seen that dress before, but I could not place it.

I hardly paid much attention to the festival that night. Sure the food was good, Lindir and the minstrels played wonderful music and the twins were an entertainment all of their own once they had a bit too much to drink. They both probably should have been home in bed recovering from their injuries, but Elrond had allowed them to attend the festival. I had to admit I found something about the fact that the _Peredhil_ (half-elves) did not have the same resistance to alcohol as the rest of the elves somewhat entertaining. I imagined Elrond drunk and nearly fell off my chair laughing. The evening seemed to drag on forever, and I had not once seen Elrond. I began to doubt myself then, and sat in agitated silence watching the twins playing some sort of gambling game where the loser had to take off a piece their clothes. …They had quite the audience of enraptured _ellith_ (female elves) watching them. Elrohir was losing badly from the looks of it as he was stripped down to just his pants. I felt a little bad for the girls, I was almost positive that the twins had no interest in women and were just doing it for the attention. Bored, I got up and started on my way to gardens as it was half an hour to midnight.

If the gardens were breathtaking during the daytime, they were beyond words at night. The normally brilliant colors of all the flowers were subdued, but everything seemed to be bathed in a haze of shimmering moonlight. _This place is truly magical. _I thought to myself as I walked along slowly past a row of white roses that gleamed in the starlight. It was silent, as most of the birds must have been sleeping, but as I neared the garden a bird nearby erupted into song. It was almost deafening in the silence, but had a beautiful and distinctive sound. "A nightingale." I whispered to the darkness. _You will have to wait for the nightingale to sing! _ The words spoken by one of the twin girls in my dreams echoed in my mind. Suddenly a great deal more nervous than before, I took a few hesitant steps forward into the area where the pond was. I was alone. There was no one there aside from Nim who was sound asleep near a lilac bush. _It is not midnight yet._ I told myself, trying not to lose hope as I sat on the bench under the willow. I wanted to cry, as I heard the bell in the tower above the house of healing begin tolling the hour. Twelve chimes I counted, and then the nightingale fell silent. Minutes passed and I began to realize that Elrond obviously was not coming. I pulled my feet up on the bunch and rested my head on my knees. _Do not cry. I must not cry. _ I repeated to myself a few times, but it was a losing battle and a single tear slid down my cheek.

…

I had not been able to attend the festival. There had been another caravan attacked on the plains and the traveling merchants had sustained serious injuries. Glorfindel and I had spent the better part of the day and night tending to them. Erulissë unfortunately had already left by the time we got there. We lost two of them, and this time one of the guardsmen as well. The guards were going to have to learn to how to deal with these beasts, and soon or else there would not be any of them left. Considering the situation, it was probably better that Erulissë had not been there. Easily the hardest part of being a healer is knowing when it is just not within ones power to save someone. I was not entirely sure she could cope with such a situation just yet. It was when I was helping to clean up the absolute wreck Ithilwen and I had made of the apothecary that Glorfindel came to me. I had no idea what time it was, just that it was dark outside and I was exhausted from the events of the past two days.

"It is almost midnight." Glorfindel said when Ithilwen and I both pointedly ignored him. She just shook her head and had a look on her face that quite plainly begged him not to say there was someone else injured. She did not look to have any more energy left than I did. I sighed and replaced a nearly empty bottle of dried monkshood back in its place on the shelf. Whatever it was he wanted – I really did not have the motivation to deal with it. "I believe you have somewhere to be." I looked up at him, confused. In a flash I remembered the visions, and the way the Erulissë had so hopefully commented that she was excited for tonight. She had _not_ been talking about the festival, no matter what I might have liked to try and tell myself. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. _Midnight? Already? Where has the day gone? _I thought to myself, uncertain how I had lost track of just how long I had been working. I was still in a state of conflict as to whether to go to her or not. I knew she would be there. I also knew that she would be heartbroken if I did not meet her in the gardens. The truth of it was that I cared more deeply for her than I was ready to admit and the thought of accepting it was terrifying. …and the thought of becoming too attached and losing her as I lost Gil-Galad and Celebrian even more so. Honestly, I was just as afraid to reject her and see the sadness in her eyes.

"I know." I whispered and looked at Glorfindel, hoping he might sense my distress and offer me some kind of guidance. Our eyes met and he shook his head and put his hand on my shoulder. Ithilwen stopped sweeping the floor and watched us curiously. Obviously she had no idea what we were talking about.

"If you do not go now, you will regret it for the rest of eternity. Erulissë is not some kept woman. She is a warrior. She is not Celebrian and she will not meet the same fate. She is stronger than that. Go to her." He told me as if he knew exactly what was going through my mind and gently pushed me toward the door. Of course, he knew me better than anyone aside from my sons so it was not at all surprising. I nodded and resigned myself to leave the house of healing.

"What just happened, exactly?" I heard Ithilwen ask Glorfindel as I left the apothecary. Not really wanting to hear Glorfindel's response, I decided against wasting any more time than necessary. I could not ever remember being so apprehensive before, aside from possibly the day I had asked Galadriel and Celeborn for Celebrian's hand in marriage. _This is not so hard. _I tried to convince myself as I made my way to the garden at a brisk pace. _This is Erulissë. _ I hated to think about it, but even when I first met her as a terrified, injured border-guard who had been brought before Galadriel for punishment, all I had really wanted to do was wrap my arms around her and take her someplace safe. She had stolen my heart away from me and I had been both too powerless and oblivious to put a stop to it. …But did I want to put a stop to it? No. I wanted to let the walls fall. I wanted to love her without reservations and unconsciously I had been letting it happen all along.

It was silent in the gardens aside from a single nightingale singing, which unnerved me – even though there were always nightingales in the valley. _It could be any night that one would be singing here, and not the night that will change everything. _I mused to myself as I heard the bell toll the hour and swore as I set off at a run to the heart of the gardens where the pond was. It was rather undignified, really – both the swearing and running off like an elfling who was late to class. Once I was there, I thought for a moment that I was alone aside from Nim. He was sleeping rolled over on his back like a dead thing with his tongue lolling out of his mouth near a lilac bush that was nearly falling over under the weight its many lavender blooms. Then I saw Erulissë sitting on the bench. She had her back to where I was standing and obviously had been crying. _How could I even have considered not coming? _I thought, feeling rather guilty for having upset her. I took a deep, steadying breath as I made up my mind at last and went to her.

"I am sorry for being late, _pen-vuil_. (dear one)" I said as I sat beside Erulissë and pulled her close, trying not to think about what I was doing lest I change my mind. She did not resist and fell against me with her head resting on my shoulder. I had never really touched her before other than when I had fixed her dislocated shoulder before leaving Caras Galadhon, but nothing about her being so close felt awkward or unfamiliar in the slightest. "I hope you can forgive me." I told her and ran my fingers through her hair in an attempt to comfort her.

"I did not think you were going to come." Erulissë whispered and wrapped her arms around me possessively. "It is not like you to be late."

"Nor is it like me to make excuses. So I will not." I said and shifted my position so I could see her face. Gently I touched her chin and tilted her head up so that our eyes met. "Though, you should know by now that I am anything but perfect."

"I would not want you to be perfect." She replied. "I am happy to have you as you are. _Guren min gaim lín_. (My heart is in your hands)"

"As is mine in yours. _Melin le_. (I love you)" I answered, throwing caution to the winds as it had felt so careless to simply say those words. But somehow, I knew that I would not regret it. I had given up fighting a long time ago. There was no reason to keep myself in denial – it would only hurt both of us. …Or at least I could imagine Glorfindel saying something like that while he never forgave me for thinking of leaving her there waiting for me.

"What happens now?" Erulissë asked her emerald hued eyes wide.

"What happens now is.. well.. I suppose we give this a try. We can already live together without killing each other, so I take it that is a good omen." I replied and chuckled softly. She smiled slightly and scooted a little closer to me on the bench.

"It is most unfair that I have to leave in the morning now." Erulissë said somewhat ruefully.

"Allow me to make it up to you, then." I suggested. "Lay with me tonight." Her cheeks flushed bright red, but she smiled in that endearing way only she could. _Really? Have I no concept of romance? Did I truly just ask that of her?_

"I think would like that." She answered, somewhat hesitantly. "But, you should probably know that I have never done that before. I do not wish to... disappoint you." I will admit that this honestly came as a surprise to me. She had a certain innocence and naivety about her, but I never would have imagined she was a virgin. It really made no difference, though. It just meant that I would have to be patient with her.

"I doubt you could disappoint me, _pen-vuil._" I told her reassuringly. "Nor should you feel pressured to do this if you are not ready."

"I trust you." Erulissë whispered. _There is no going back now. _I told myself as I stood and pulled her to her feet as well. _I hope this is the right path that I have chosen to follow. _As gently as I could, I pressed my lips to hers in a chaste kiss.

* * *

I was not thinking, I must not have been. But somehow, I could not have cared less. My mind was a blank as I walked beside Elrond, my hand in his. _What am I so afraid of? _I tried to ask myself. _Maybe that this is not real and just another dream? That I will wake up tomorrow in my own bed more frustrated than ever?_ It was silly of course, to think such things. But somehow everything just seemed to have fallen too perfectly into place – something had to go wrong somewhere. I was never so lucky. I touched trembling fingertips to my lips where he had kissed me.

"You are far too quiet; it is most out of character." Elrond said, giving me a curious glance. "Are you nervous, perhaps?"

"...Yes." I replied, suddenly feeling a bit shy. "It is funny really. That those warg-beast creatures do not scare me in the slightest, yet right now I am a wreck. It is almost as though a painful death would be preferable to what I have gotten myself into this time. ...But that is just silly." To my surprise, Elrond just smiled.

"You know, I would rather try my luck at stealing precious gems from an angry dragon." He said after a moment. "I always find that giving my heart to someone is absolutely terrifying. ...And that is coming from someone who has been inside the heart of Mount Doom itself. Though, one would hope I am not so unattractive that you would prefer to be gored by one of those beasts than spend what is left of the night with me." I had to admit, that I found it hard to imagine him being afraid of anything and wondered if he had just said it for my benefit.

"Of course not. I promise to be very careful with your heart then, _hîr nín_. (my lord)" I told him in a somewhat mischievous tone as we arrived at our home. It was only after I said it, that it occurred to me that I had never addressed Elrond by title, only when speaking to others about him. Awkwardly, I glanced at Nim was lying across the small rug in front of the door. He must have left the gardens before we did. It was a comical sight really. He would need at least five more rugs to make a proper bed out of it.

"Somehow, you saying that just sounds wrong. " Elrond said. "You can come in but do not get any ideas; there will not be enough room in my bed for you tonight." He added, shooing Nim out of the way. I could not help but laugh at mental image of the white wolfhound trying to fit himself in bed with the two of us. I was glad to see that no one else was home. Obviously, the twins would have probably already have figured it out since we were not at the festival, but I did not want to deal with them then. Hesitantly, I followed Elrond to the stairs at the back of the study. Nim curled up in his favorite spot by the fireplace and gave me an oddly accusing look. _I am really going to do this. _I thought to myself and nearly stumbled over the hem of my dress as I started up the stairs.

It was the first time I had actually been upstairs in Elrond's house, and I was immediately surprised at how spotless it was. The study, kitchen and most likely the twins' rooms were in a state of controlled chaos. But up here the small sitting room at the top of the stairs was neatly arranged and everything kept in its place. It was not that Elrond did not use it – that I could tell from the large ledger he had left open on the glass table between the two red velvet chairs. There was not much else in the sitting room, aside from a few short bookcases. The north wall was nothing but windows that overlooked the large balcony that was nearly overrun with dying ivy. The wall behind me was carved with the motif of a large oak tree, and just like the doors to Elrond's office, the doors to the master bedroom were inlaid with red agate where the tree's leaves would be. _I should have come up here before. _I said to myself. _It would have been a nice quiet place to sit and do my work for my healer's training. _

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Elrond asked suddenly, his hand resting on the door handle to the master bedroom. "...That you want to give your heart to someone so old and careworn?"

"If I had wanted anyone else, I think that I would have known by now. I am nearly six hundred years old now." I answered and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind and rested my head on his shoulder. _If nothing else, he feels nice. ...Smells nice too, but I think he has just been working in the apothecary. _I thought somewhat blankly. In all honesty, I had no idea what I was doing. ...But I had decided when I resigned myself to go to the gardens that night, that there would be no turning back. "Besides, your being older and more... experienced will make this that much less awkward. Though, if you have to ask – is it really what you want, or are you only doing this for my sake?" _Please do not let it be that... _I added silently.

"A little bit of both, I think." Elrond replied. "Mostly I doubt myself being the best thing for you, though that is not to say I do not desire this. Either way, I have chosen this path now, and I have no regrets yet. Nor do I believe I ever will."

"Shall we stop wasting time, then? It will be morning in a few short hours and we will not see each other for a few months." I said, letting go of him. "I want to make the most of this time we have now." I added in a whisper.

"Very well. I want our first time together to be a fond memory – not one that was rushed. Come with me then, if you are ready." Wordlessly I followed Elrond into the master bedroom. I wondered if he could hear my heart beating for surely it threatened to burst out of my chest. _I have no idea what he was so worried about; Nim could definitely fit in that bed with us both. _Was my first thought upon entering the room. It was true, really. Elrond's elaborate canopy bed was huge. Though, I had a sneaking suspicion that it may have been because of Celebrian. Surely the daughter of Galadriel had to be pampered silly to be happy. I dashed these thoughts from my mind; I really did not want to bed Elrond thinking about his ex-wife. I closed the doors behind us and turned the key in the lock – _Valar _be damned if Nim or the twins disturbed us.

The room looked like the rest of the house, but neater – meaning there were bookshelves everywhere. In the far corner by the large windows that matched the ones in my room there was a handsome oaken desk that looked like a smaller version of the one in Elrond's office. This was the only spot that was even slightly disorderly. I should have expected that, of course. He was very particular about his office and if something was not put away, it could get ugly. Thankfully, Glorfindel was usually the perpetrator and not me. It stood to reason that here would be no different. I kept quiet as Elrond lit a few candles to give us some light. Unlike the office, his bedroom did not have a fancy chandelier fitted with glowing crystals hanging from the ceiling.

"I like it here." I said, mostly for the sake of saying anything to break the silence.

"That is good, I suppose. Seeing as I imagine you will probably be spending your nights here once you return from Rohan." Elrond replied with a smile. "Now then, shall we get you out of that dress? ...Not that I do not appreciate it – you look lovely." He suggested as he took off his overcoat and threw it over the back of the chair by the desk. I nodded and fumbled with the buttons the held the dress on that went nearly all the way up my back. _How did I even get this damned thing on? _I complained inwardly. Luckily I was saved the struggle by Elrond who pulled me tightly against him so that my head rested on his chest. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as I relaxed into the embrace. I loved the way it felt when he held me, the only word I can really think of to describe it is... warm. And the way he smelled, it was like a combination of old paper mingling with the sweet fragrance of the medicines he so loved making.

"You smell nice." I said and ran my fingers through his hair as he reached behind me and began undoing the buttons on my dress. _His hair _is _really soft. _I thought to myself, remembering how it was all I could think of the day before while I had been watching over Elladan.

"You do too, like wildflowers and rain." He replied in a whisper and slipped his hand inside the back of the dress which he had finished unbuttoning and very lightly caressed my back. The touch sent shivers up my spine. He let go of me then to pull off his undershirt which he laid on top of his coat. Even though he preferred the arts of healing, Elrond's physique more than proved that he was still very much a warrior. I was at least somewhat relieved to see he had nearly as many scars as I did. Though, to his credit I doubted he had ever been stupid enough to pester a bear and get nearly gored by it. I did not resist as he slipped the dress off my shoulders, exposing my breasts as he kissed me again, a little less softly than before. I flinched slightly as I felt him trail a very gentle touch across what I knew was the long, jagged scar on my lower stomach from the bear escapade.

"Ugly, is it not?" I mumbled shamefully. "You can say it."

"Not at all." Elrond said kindly. "It could because of having been a healer for so long, but I tend to see scars as beautiful things. They all tell a story, and exist as reminders of our ability to heal and move on. Do not think of yourself as ugly because of this, rather that you survived whatever this was and are stronger for it." I will admit, I never would have thought of it that way, but it made sense.

"Someday, I will tell you that story. I doubt if it made me stronger, but I sure learned something from it." I told him and smiled.

"I look forward to it." He said and helped me rest of the way out of the dress, so that it fell in a heap around my ankles. "You know, in my first vision of you, you were wearing that dress. But I must admit, it looks even better on the floor." He said seductively and placed a kiss on my forehead. I could feel my face turning red and took ahold of his belt.

"I bet these pants will look better on the floor, too." I replied mischievously and tugged the belt loose. Elrond seemed surprised, but he laughed and ruffled my hair lightly.

"I am sure that they will, _Meleth nín_. (my love)" He said as he pulled the braids out of my hair. "How would you like to help me out of them, hmm?" I blushed furiously, but I was never the type to back down from a challenge of any kind. Trying to keep my hands steady, I undid the clasp on Elrond's pants and pulled them off with one quick tug. I tried not to stare, but I could not help it. I have no idea what it was about Elrond that so easily captivated me. It was not my first time seeing a naked man by any means. There were not a lot of female border-guards in Lorien, and that meant I spent a lot of time camping in the woods with a bunch of men. …And men, well, they will be men. Elves are not an exception. But something about Elrond was different, and the sight he presented nude nearly rendered me speechless. "_Le bainon_. (You are so beautiful)" Elrond murmured and tangled his fingers into my hair.

"Not as beautiful as you. Wait. That came out all wrong… I mean…Handsome… or - Ah!" I gasped as Elrond nibbled on one of my ear tips and cupped my right breast in his free hand. Nothing about the touch was forceful or rough, though. It was gentle and warm and made me feel like I was melting. _I need to just stop talking. And thinking. Stop that, too. _I told myself and pressed my body against him. The sensation of our bare skin touching was absolutely exquisite and I nearly cried out when he rubbed the pad of his thumb lightly over my nipple. I was hardly even aware we had moved until I felt myself being guided down onto the bed. I gave no resistance and sighed quietly as Elrond straddled my hips and sucked at a spot at the base of my throat. He took me in another kiss, but this time deep and searching. As he explored my mouth (though plundered might be a better word for it) I reached up and took a handful of his hair and held it tightly, not tightly enough to pull it though. _Of all the things, I have a kink for his hair… _I thought somewhat brokenly as our lips finally parted and we both gasped for breath. I moaned quietly as he ever so gently slipped a finger inside of me with no warning.

"How do you feel?" He asked in a husky whisper. "Still nervous?"

"I - " I choked on my words and whimpered as he nipped at a spot near my navel. "….No." I managed to reply meekly. It was not a lie in the slightest. Nervous? Ha, I could hardly remember where I was. I was completely astounded by how easily he had managed to put me in such a state.

"Very good." Elrond told me and slipped a second finger inside of me. I gasped and arched up into him. The feeling of his ministrations as he gently caressed that special spot deep within me was so intense that it was nearly painful. It was absolutely beyond me to comprehend how he could speak articulately when I could see the lust in his dark eyes and feel the heat of his arousal pressed against my inner thigh. "On with the deflowering then, if you are ready of course." He purred and sucked at the base of my throat as withdrew his fingers.

"…Deflowering?" I whimpered, utterly lost, trembling all over and clinging to him helplessly.

"Shall I take you?" He asked, brushing a few stray strands of frizzy blonde hair out of my face. _Take me? But I am already yours…_ I wanted to say, but could not find the words.

"Please. Elrond! _Hi!_ (now)" I begged instead, and let go of his hair so he could move to get himself properly in position.

"As you wish, dear one." He said quietly and very carefully thrust himself deep inside of me in one fluid motion without breaking our eye contact. "Ah, so… tight." He murmured and whispered my name as he began to move. Had I not been so lost in the storm of pleasure that overcame me as he first entered me, I probably would have been gratified to see him totally lose his composure at that moment. _I did this to him… somehow. _I thought fleetingly as I whimpered and grabbed a handful off the silken sheets in an attempt to find something – _anything –_ solid to hang on to as he quickened his pace because if I did not, surely I would float away in sheer bliss. I was vaguely aware that somewhere I was calling out his name, begging him not to stop. The other part of me, it seemed was one with him and we moved together as one being in perfect harmony. And then… Then it seemed as though as then world fell away as everything exploded in brilliant light and radiant warmth filled me. As if from far away, I heard Elrond cry out my name and I was pulled back into reality. …But what a positively beautiful reality it was to be so tightly wrapped up in his arms and joined with him in such an intimate way. Many of the older elves believed that such a union was the same thing as marriage, and in that moment I could understand why.

"_Melin le. _(I love you)" I whispered and nuzzled my face into his shoulder as he withdrew from me and lay beside me.

"_Uivelin le._ (I will always love you)" He replied and pulled me closer. If we said anything past that then, I did not remember as I quickly fell into a peaceful sleep as I heard the distant rumble of thunder and the first raindrops of what promised to be a ferocious storm fall upon the roof above us.


End file.
